David Mateos Rocha (born 7 February 1985) is a Spanish retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, and the sporting director of

Mérida AD Asociación Deportiva Mérida, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Mérida, Spain, Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2013 it is a successor club of ...

Club career

Born in Cáceres,

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

, Rocha started playing football in

CP Cacereño Club Polideportivo Cacereño is a Spanish football team based in Cáceres, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 1919, the club plays in , and holds home games at '' Estadio Príncipe Felipe'', with a capacity of 7,000 seats. No ...

's youth system, and made his debuts as a senior in the 2002–03 campaign, in

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

. In 2005, he moved to

Villarreal CF B Villarreal Club de Fútbol "B" is a Spanish football team based in Villarreal, in the autonomous community of Valencia. Founded in 1999, it is the reserve team of Villarreal CF and plays in , holding home games at '' Estadio de la Cerámica'', wit ...

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

, appearing regularly for the side. On 11 January 2008 Rocha joined

FC Cartagena Fútbol Club Cartagena, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Cartagena, in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Founded in 1995 it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at '' Estadio Cartagonova'', with a capacity of 15,105 sp ...

in the third level. On 15 July he returned to Cacereño, with the side now in the fourth division, winning promotion in his first season. On 14 July 2011 Rocha signed for

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 5 July 1939, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish foo ...

, after being

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

at his previous club. On 26 June 2013 he moved to fellow third division side

Gimnàstic de Tarragona Club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, commonly known as Gimnàstic Tarragona or sometimes just Nàstic, is a Spanish sports club based in Tarragona, in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Its football team plays in . The club was founded in 1886 an ...

, signing a two-year deal. On 19 June 2015, after winning promotion to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

with ''Nàstic'', Rocha renewed his link until 2018. He made his professional debut on 23 August, starting in a 2–2 home draw against former club Albacete. On 21 January 2016 Rocha moved abroad for the first time in his career, after agreeing to a three-year deal with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

side

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. On 6 July 2016, he mutually terminated his contract with Dynamo after alleging "family reasons". On 11 July 2016 Rocha returned to Spain and its second tier, after agreeing to a two-year deal with

Real Oviedo Real Oviedo ( Asturian: Real Uviéu) is a Spanish professional football club based in Oviedo, Asturias. Founded on 26 March 1926, the club plays in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system. The club plays at ...

. On 4 July 2018 he terminated his contract, and returned to Gimnàstic just hours later. Rocha cut ties with ''Nàstic'' on 24 January 2019, and signed a short-term deal with fellow league team

UD Almería Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish professional football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded on 26 July 1989 and known as ''Almería Club de Fútbol'' until 2001 ...

just hours later. On 2 July, he signed a two-year contract with

Extremadura UD Extremadura Unión Deportiva was a Spanish football team based in Almendralejo, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Founded in 2007, it last played in Primera División RFEF – Group 1, holding home games at '' Estadio Francisco de la ...

, still in the second division.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocha, David 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Cáceres, Spain Footballers from the Province of Cáceres Spanish men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players CP Cacereño players Villarreal CF B players FC Cartagena footballers Albacete Balompié players Gimnàstic de Tarragona footballers Real Oviedo players UD Almería players Extremadura UD footballers Mérida AD players Major League Soccer players Houston Dynamo FC players Spanish expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Spanish football managers Primera Federación managers Mérida AD managers 21st-century Spanish sportsmen