Nuno Miguel Monteiro Rocha (born 25 March 1992) is a Cape Verdean former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Born in Praia, Rocha moved to Portugal with 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.[2]
Rocha made his Primeira Liga debut with the first team on 7 October 2013, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 away loss against Vitória de Guimarães.[3] He scored his first goal in the competition the following 16 February, the game's only at home to Vitória de Setúbal.[4]
In June 2014, Rocha signed with Romanian club CS Universitatea Craiova.[5][6] 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 with CS Pandurii Târgu Jiu.[7]
In the 2015–16 season, Rocha scored a career-best nine goals to help his team to finish in eighth position. His teammates included compatriots Kay and Rambé,[8] and he was released from contract on 11 April 2017.[9]
On 7 June 2017, Rocha joined Russian Premier League side FC Tosno on a three-year deal.[10] He helped them win the domestic cup in his only season, scoring the decisive penalty kick in the semi-final shootout against FC Spartak Moscow[11] and also being featured in the decisive match against FC Avangard Kursk at the Volgograd Arena.[12]
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,[13] he took part in all three group-phase games, which ended in draw and subsequent elimination.[14][15][16]
On 1 September 2017, Rocha scored twice to hand his team a 2–1 defeat of South Africa, their first ever win against their African counterparts.[17]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Marítimo B | 2011–12 | Campeonato de Portugal | 29 | 4 | — | — | — | 29 | 4 | |||
| 2012–13 | LigaPro | 35 | 2 | — | — | — | 35 | 2 | ||||
| 2013–14 | LigaPro | 21 | 2 | — | — | — | 21 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 85 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 8 | ||
| Marítimo | 2013–14 | Primeira Liga | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[b] | 1 | 20 | 2 | |
| Universitatea Craiova | 2014–15 | Liga I | 30 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 8 | ||
| 2015–16 | Liga I | 38 | 9 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 9 | |||
| 2016–17 | Liga I | 24 | 5 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 27 | 5 | ||
| Total | 92 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 97 | 22 | ||
| Tosno | 2017–18 | Russian Premier League | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 219 | 31 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 232 | 32 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Verde | |||
| 2014 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 27 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 June 2015 | Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde |  São Tomé and Príncipe |
2–0 | 7–1 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2 | 1 September 2017 | Estádio Nacional, Praia, Cape Verde |  South Africa |
1–1 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 2–1 |
Tosno
