Introduction
Nereo Rocco (20 May 1912 – 20 February 1979) was an Italian association football player and manager. 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. Milan, and was the first proponent of catenaccio in the country.
Playing career
Rocco played as a winger in midfield; he 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.
Coaching career
Triestina
Rocco made his coaching debut for Triestina in 1947. He obtained a surprising second place in 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. Milan
In 1961, Rocco was appointed as new A.C. Milan coach, starting one of the most successful periods for the rossoneri, winning the Italian league and the European Cup in 1963. After a good stint at Torino, where he obtained the best results since the disappearance of the Grande Torino, in 1967 Rocco returned to Milan, where he immediately won another scudetto and the Cup Winners' Cup.
He left Milan in 1973, after having won also another European Cup in 1969, an Intercontinental Cup, an Italian Cup and another Cup Winners' Cup. After one year in Fiorentina, Rocco decided to end his coaching career in 1974. In 1977 he was appointed by 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).
Posthumous
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.
Honours
Manager
- A.C. Milan
- Italian League (2): 1961–62, 1967–68
- Italian Cup (3): 1971–72, 1972–73, 1976–77
- European Cup (2): 1962–63, 1968–69
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (2): 1967–68, 1972–73
- Intercontinental Cup (1): 1969
- Individual
- Seminatore d'Oro: 1962–63
- Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2012
- "BARESI, CAPELLO AND RIVERA ACCEPTED IN HALL OF FAME". acmilan.com. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2015.