Nuno Rocha (Cape Verdean footballer)


Nuno Miguel Monteiro Rocha is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Club career

Marítimo

Born in Praia, Rocha moved to Portugal in C.S. Marítimo for his last year as a junior. He spent the vast majority of his first three senior seasons with the reserves, competing with them in both the second and third divisions.
Rocha made his Primeira Liga debut with the first team on 7 October 2013, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 away loss against Vitória de Guimarães. He scored his first goal in the competition the following 16 February, netting the game's only at home to Vitória de Setúbal.

Universitatea Craiova

In June 2014, Rocha signed with Romanian club CS Universitatea Craiova. His maiden appearance in Liga I took place on 25 July, as he came on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 home draw against CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu.
In the 2015–16 season, Rocha scored a career-best nine goals to help his team finish in eighth position. His teammates included countrymen Kay and Rambé, and he was released from contract on 11 April 2017.

Tosno

On 7 June 2017, Rocha joined Russian Premier League's FC Tosno on a three-year deal. He helped the club win the domestic cup in his first season, scoring the decisive penalty kick in the semi-final shootout against FC Spartak Moscow and also being featured in the decisive match against FC Avangard Kursk at the Volgograd Arena.

International career

Rocha earned his first cap for Cape Verde on 6 September 2014, in a 3–1 away win over Niger for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Selected for the finals by manager Rui Águas, he took part in all three group phase matches, which ended in draw and subsequent elimination.
On 1 September 2017, Rocha scored twice to hand his team a 2–1 win over South Africa, their first ever win over their African counterparts.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.13 June 2015Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde2–07–12017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.1 September 2017Estádio Nacional, Praia, Cape Verde1–12–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.1 September 2017Estádio Nacional, Praia, Cape Verde2–12–12018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Tosno