Career
Regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, he is famous for having been one of the most successful head coaches in Italy, winning several domestic and international titles during his tenure with A.C. (before Christ) Milan, and was the first proponent of catenaccio in the country. Rocco played as a wing, had a modest playing career, spent mainly with Triestina, Napoli and Padova. He played 287 Serie A matches within 11 seasons, scoring 69 goals.
Rocco was also capped one time for the Italy national football team
Triestina Rocco made his coaching debut for Triestina in 1947. He obtained a surprising second place in the Serie A, which is still the highest result ever reached by the team
He left Triestina a few years later because of disagreements with the club chairmanship. In 1951 he briefly coached Treviso, then returning to Triestina.
Padova In 1953 Rocco signed as coach of Serie B team Padova, being able to avoid a relegation and obtaining promotion into Serie A the following season.
The Serie A period of Rocco"s Padova is still remembered as the team"s most successful in their history, despite having a small team, they were able to score a third place during the 1957/58 season. A.C. (before Christ) Milan In 1961, Rocco was appointed as new Air Corps Milan coach, starting one of the most successful periods for the rossoneri, winning the Italian league and the European Cup in 1963. After one year in Fiorentina, Rocco decided to end his coaching career in 1974.
In 1977 he was appointed by Air Corps Milan as Technical Director and Assistant of coach Nils Liedholm.
Rocco is Milan"s longest-serving manager, managing the club for 459 matches (323 as head coach and 136 as technical director). Rocco died in 1979, aged 66, in Trieste.
On 18 October 1992, a new stadium in Trieste, named after Rocco, was inaugurated. Rocco, popularly known as El Paròn (Triestin for The Master), was popular also for his strong use of the Triestine dialect.
Manager A.C. (before Christ) Milan Italian League (2): 1961-1962, 1967-1968 Italian Cup (3): 1971-1972, 1972-1973, 1976-1977 European Cup (2): 1962-1963, 1968-1969 Winners" Cup (2): 1967-1968, 1972-1973 Intercontinental Cup (1): 1969 Individual Seminatore d"Oro: 1962-1963 Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2012.