Nereo Rocco
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 20 May 1912 | ||
| Place of birth | Trieste, Austria-Hungary | ||
| Date of death | 20 February 1979 (aged 66) | ||
| Place of death | Trieste, Italy | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1927–1930 | Triestina | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1930–1937 | Triestina | 232 | (66) |
| 1937–1940 | Napoli | 52 | (7) |
| 1940–1942 | Padova | 47 | (14) |
| 1942–1943 | 94° Reparto Distretto Trieste | - | (-) |
| 1943–1944 | Libertas Trieste | 14 | (1) |
| 1944–1945 | Padova | - | (-) |
| National team | |||
| 1934 | Italy | 1 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1947–1950 | Triestina | ||
| 1950–1953 | Treviso | ||
| 1953–1954 | Triestina | ||
| 1954–1961 | Padova | ||
| 1961–1963 | A.C. Milan | ||
| 1963–1967 | Torino | ||
| 1967–1973 | A.C. Milan | ||
| 1974–1975 | Fiorentina | ||
| 1977 | A.C. Milan | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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