 La Rocca playing forWestern Sydney Wanderers in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Iacopo La Rocca[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-02-17)17 February 1984 (age 41) | ||
| Place of birth | Rome, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder Central defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2004 | Pro Vercelli | 36 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Chieti | 1 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Fermana | 8 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Sassari Torres | 5 | (0) |
| 2007–2011 | AC Bellinzona | 89 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Grasshopper | 19 | (0) |
| 2012–2015 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 58 | (6) |
| 2015–2017 | Adelaide United | 30 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Melbourne City | 20 | (0) |
| Total | 266 | (11) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2019–2023 | Melbourne City FC U14,U17,U23 | ||
| 2023–2024 | Preston Lions FC U23 | ||
| 2026– | FC Bulleen Lions | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 May 2019 | |||
Iacopo La Rocca (born 17 February 1984) is an retired Italian-Australian professionalfootballer who played as adefensive midfielder orcentral defender and current head coach forFC Bulleen Lions.
La Rocca started his youth career atLazio, before moving to his first clubPro Vercelli. He signed 3 years deal with Treviso.
He joined various clubs on loan from TrevisoItaly, likes ofChieti,Fermana,Sassari Torres but he was unlucky with injuries and then moved toSwitzerland, where he joined for four yearsAC Bellinzona where he won the Challenge League and he played the Final Swiss Cup against Basel.After 4 years in Super League where he also played 6 games in the UEFA Cup he joinedSwiss Super League clubGrasshopper.
On 11 September 2012, he signed a one-year deal withA-League clubWestern Sydney Wanderers.[2] La Rocca scored his first goal for Western Sydney Wanderers on 18 November 2012 in just his second game, to defeatPerth Glory.[3] In February 2013, he signed a new two-year deal with the Wanderers.[4]
On 23 March, La Rocca was sent off in the last minute of stoppage time in the thirdSydney Derby of the season for elbowingSydney midfielderTerry Antonis in the temple. The subsequent ban meant La Rocca missed the semifinal and thefinal.[5] His club nonetheless won the title in their debut season.On 2013 he played the Grand Final he got the man of the match with Broich and won the Joe Marston Medal but Western Sydney Wanderes lost in extra time 2–1 but the year after he won the2014 AFC Champions League, with La Rocca starting both legs of their triumph overAl-Hilal in the final and became the first Italian to win that trophy.
At the2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, La Rocca opened the scoring againstCruz Azul of Mexico in an eventual 1–3 loss after extra time.[6]
In June 2015, La Rocca signed a two-year contract withAdelaide United.[7][8] After overcoming injury, he featured heavily for Adelaide in the second half of the season and played a crucial role in the central defensive position along with teammateDylan McGowan in the club's successful attempt at the Premier's Plate and inaugural Championship title.
In November 2016, La Rocca became an Australian citizen, allowing him to be called up to theAustralian national team and to be considered as a domestic player for his club.[9]
Melbourne City announced the signing of La Rocca on 15 July 2017 with 2 years deal.[10] La Rocca played his first official game with Melbourne City on 13 September 2017 in FFA Cup against Sydney FC.
Following his retirement in 2019, he began his journey as a coach by acquiring the UEFA B License in Italy. In 2023, he obtained the UEFA A License in Coverciano, Italy.[citation needed]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Pro Vercelli | 2002–03 | Serie C2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2003–04 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||||
| 2004–05 | 22 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 23 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||||
| Chieti | 2004–05 | Serie C1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Fermana | 2005–06 | Serie C1 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Sassari Torres | 2006–07 | Serie C2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| AC Bellinzona | 2007–08 | Swiss Challenge League | 25 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2008–09 | Swiss Super League | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 35 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |||
| Total | 89 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 111 | 5 | ||
| Grasshopper | 2011–12 | Swiss Super League | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 2012–13 | A-League | 20 | 3 | — | — | — | 20 | 3 | |||
| 2013–14 | 20 | 2 | — | 7 | 0 | — | 27 | 2 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 3 | ||
| Total | 58 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 77 | 8 | ||
| Adelaide United | 2015–16 | A-League | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | |||
| Total | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| Melbourne City | 2017–18 | A-League | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 266 | 11 | 20 | 0 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 318 | 15 | ||
Adelaide United FC