Juan Ramón Rocha
Juan Ramón Rocha (born 8 March 1954) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the current manager of Greek Football League club Thesprotos.
 Rocha playing for Boca Juniors | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Juan Ramón Rocha | ||
| Date of birth | 8 March 1954[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Santo Tomé, Argentina | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Thesprotos (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1960–1970 | Avanti Santo Tome Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1972–1978 | Newell's Old Boys | 135 | (26) |
| 1978–1979 | Junior | 15 | (3) |
| 1979–1980 | Boca Juniors | 26 | (3) |
| 1980–1989 | Panathinaikos | 227 | (13) |
| Total | 403 | (45) | |
| National team | |||
| 1973–1977 | Argentina | 3[2] | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1989–1990 | Paniliakos | ||
| 1990–1991 | Ilisiakos | ||
| 1991–1992 | Kalamata | ||
| 1994–1996 | Panathinaikos | ||
| 1997–1999 | Aris | ||
| 1999 | Panathinaikos | ||
| 2001–2003 | Skoda Xanthi | ||
| 2006–2007 | Ilisiakos | ||
| 2007–2008 | Olympiakos Nicosia | ||
| 2008–2012 | Panathinaikos U20 | ||
| 2012–2013 | Panathinaikos | ||
| 2017–2018 | Ruch Chorzów | ||
| 2019– | Thesprotos | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 28, 2007 | |||
Playing career
Born in Santo Tomé, Corrientes, Rocha began his professional career at Newell's Old Boys in 1972, he was part of their Metropolitano winning team in 1974. He moved to Boca Juniors in 1979 and played in 1979 Copa Libertadores finals. In 1980, he was transferred to Greek soccer club Panathinaikos where he played until his retirement on July 1, 1989.
Nicknamed The Indian, Rocha was a skillful player, with vision and remarkable sportsmanship. He is considered by many one of the greatest players in the team's history. Rocha was first signed for Panathinaikos under the name Boublis with Greek papers; the subsequent discovery of record falsifications and ensuing scandal almost landed Rocha in jail and Panathinaikos in the second division. These allegations were later dismissed and both Panathinaikos and Rocha were acquitted. This was one of the many cases of "hellenization" of foreign players for many Greek soccer clubs.
Managerial career
After retirement he started coaching, first Paniliakos in where he was coach-player at the Fourth Division,[3] then Iliasiakos, Kalamata FC and Skoda Xanthi. He was also the coach of Panathinaikos's semi final run in the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League. He also managed Olympiakos Nicosia in Cyprus.
He is now member of the scouting team of Panathinaikos, mostly searching players in Argentina and Southern America. After Jesualdo Ferreira resigned at 14 November 2012, Rocha once more became the manager of Panathinaikos.
On 11 September 2017 he was introduced as the coach of Ruch Chorzów.
Honours
Player
- Metropolitano: 1974
- Greek Cup: 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989
- Greek First Division: 1983–84, 1985–86
References
- http://www.historiadeboca.com.ar/jugadores/juan-ramon-rocha/499/1905/2013/1.html
- "Rocha, Juan Ramón". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- anotherfootballday.wordpress.com Πανηλειακός: Μισός αιώνας ζωής και κάτι για το καμάρι του Πύργου
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juan Ramon Rocha. |
- Official site at the Wayback Machine (archived March 27, 2008)
- Boca Juniors biography (in Spanish)