Giovanni Roccotelli (born 14 May 1952) is an Italian former professional

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 winger.

Early and personal life

Born in

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, Roccotelli was nicknamed "Cocò".

Club career

Roccotelli played for

Barletta Barletta (; Salentino: ''Varrétte'' or ''Barlétte'') is a city and ''comune'' in Apulia, in southeastern Italy. Barletta is the '' capoluogo'', together with Andria and Trani, of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It has a population of a ...

Avellino Avellino () is a city and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

, Ascoli,

Taranto Taranto (; ; previously called Tarent in English) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans ...

Cesena Cesena (; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy; and - with Forlì - is the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. Served by Autostrada A14 (Italy), Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine M ...

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

Foggia Foggia (, ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere delle Puglie, Tavoliere, also know ...

, Nocerina, Casertana,

Torres Torres may refer to: People *Torres (surname), a Spanish and Portuguese surname * Torres (musician), singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott ** ''Torres'' (album), 2013 self-titled album by Torres Places Americas * Torres, Colorado, an unincorporated ...

and

Selargius Selargius, Ceràrgius or Ceraxius in Sardinian, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari in the Italian region Sardinia, located about northeast of Cagliari. It has 28,323 inhabitants as of 2025. The village exists sin ...

. After making his debut with Barletta and spending a season in

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

with Avellino, he made his debut in

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

with Torino in 1975, at the age of 22. In 1977, he moved to Ascoli for two seasons, scoring 5 goals in 46 appearances, and helping the club to win promotion during the 1977–78 season; after playing for Taranto, he also won promotion to Serie A with Cesena during the 1980–81 season. In total he made 19 in appearances in Serie A with Torino, Ascoli, and Cesena, and 202 appearances in Serie B with Avellino, Cagliari, Ascoli, Taranto, Cesena, and Foggia, scoring 19 goals.

International career

Roccotelli was called up to the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

Enzo Bearzot Enzo Bearzot (; 26 September 1927 – 21 December 2010) was an Italian professional football player and manager. A defender and midfielder in his playing career, he also coached the Italy national team to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup. ...

but was ultimately not capped at that level.

Style of play and association with the ''rabona''

Although he was usually deployed as a winger on the right flank, often wearing the number 7 shirt, Roccotelli was also deployed as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

or as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

on occasion. A talented, creative and skilful right-footed player, he was a powerful striker and passer of the ball, who possessed good technique. Known for his flair,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

ability, and his use of feints and tricks on the ball, Roccotelli is credited with popularising the

rabona In association football, the rabona is the technique of kicking the football where the kicking leg is crossed behind the back of the standing leg. There are several reasons why a player might opt to strike the ball this way: for example, a right ...

in Italy during the 1970s; at that time, the move was simply called a "crossed-kick", as he placed his right foot behind his left in order to strike the ball. He often used the move on crosses, penalties, long balls, free-kicks, and shots on goal from outside the area.

References

1952 births Living people Italian men's footballers Calcio Foggia 1920 players Torino FC players Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC players Cagliari Calcio players Men's association football midfielders SEF Torres 1903 players Footballers from Bari 20th-century Italian sportsmen {{Italy-footy-midfielder-1950s-stub