Rocco Sabato (born 19 April 1982) 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 defender, usually at

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 ...

. He was a

set piece In film production, a set piece is a scene or sequence of scenes whose execution requires complex logistical planning and considerable expenditure of money. Origin and usage of the term In its original meaning, the term is used to label scene ...

specialist and scored his first

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 ...

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

from a free-kick with

Calcio Catania Catania Football Club, commonly known as Catania, is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in the city of Catania, Sicily, that plays in Serie C. Originally founded in 1908 as ''Associazione Sportiva pro Educazione Fisica'', the clu ...

during the 2008–09 season.

Career

Pavia

Sabato began his professional footballing career with A.C. Pavia, following his transfer from his youth club, During the 2000–01 Serie D season, Sabato managed to make 28 full appearances in his first season. After just one season with the club, he was sold to U.S. Fiorenzuola 1922.

Fiorenzuola

The young defender then transferred to U.S. Fiorenzuola 1922, in 2001, and again managed to hold a place in the club's starting XI. He made 30 appearances in his first season, playing mostly as a left back, and even managed a goal, which was the first of his professional career. Following his impressive form in the lower divisions of Italian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, he was sold to

Cosenza Calcio 1914 Cosenza Calcio 1914 was a professional Italian football club based in Cosenza, Calabria. It starts in 1926 when was founded Cosenza Foot-Ball Club (the year 1914 is a reference to the first historic match played by the club on 23 February 1914) ...

prior to the start of the 2002–03

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 ...

season.

Cosenza

Sabato officially transferred to

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

in July 2002, and was set for his first season in the Italian

. Following his debut, Sabato went on to make an additional 16 appearances, and his displays He soon transferred to another

side,

Cagliari Calcio Cagliari Calcio, commonly referred to as Cagliari (), is an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that plays in Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. The club currently plays home matches at the 16,416-sea ...

for an undisclosed fee. Cosenza was expelled from professional league on 31 July.

Cagliari

After officially joining the

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

n club in July 2003, Sabato became a key member of the team for much of the campaign and made 21 first team appearances in the league alone, and helped the team to

promotion for the

2004–05 Serie A The 2004–05 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 103rd season of top-tier Italian football, the 73rd in a round-robin tournament. It was expanded to contain 20 clubs, which played 38 matches against each other, ra ...

season. He did not appear much for the club, in his first Serie A season, and made his Serie A debut on 27 February 2005, as a starter against

Atalanta BC Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio (), commonly referred to as Atalanta, is a professional football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy, who compete in Serie A, the top tier of the Italian league system. Founded in 1907, Atalanta holds the record ...

The match ended in a 3–3 draw. Following his debut, he played in just two more games for the entire season. Following an entire season in Serie A, that saw the left sided defender make just three appearances, he was sold to another island club,

, ahead of the

2005–06 Serie B The 2005–06 Serie B is the 74th season since its establishment in 1929. It is the second highest football league in Italy. Teams Cremonese, Rimini, Mantova and Avellino had been promoted from Serie C, while Bologna, Brescia and Atalanta h ...

season. With this transfer, his first Serie A experience was very short-lived.

Catania

officially announced the co-ownership transfer on 7 July 2005, and the player was imminently a part of the ''rossazzuri's'' season. He managed to make 23 league appearances, and helped to guide the team to a very impressive second-place finish in the league table, and hence to

promotion. In June 2006 Catania signed Sabato outright from Cagliari for an undisclosed fee. Despite being a part of coach

Pasquale Marino Pasquale Marino (born 13 July 1962) is an Italian football manager and former player, currently in charge of club Salernitana. Playing career A midfielder, Marino started for his home team, Marsala. Marino never played in divisions higher than ...

's plans during his first season in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, the player was instantly loaned out prior to the new Serie A adventure. He was loaned back into the Italian Serie B, with

A.C. Cesena AC Cesena, commonly referred to as Cesena (), was an Italian football club based in Cesena, Emilia-Romagna. The club spent most of its history in professional leagues such as Serie A and Serie B, but went bankrupt and folded in 2018. Another cl ...

, for the 2006–07 campaign, for a fee of €75,000. It was a very successful loan spell, however, as the player was a fixture in the team's starting line-up for much of the season, making 32 league appearances, and also netting a goal. Upon his return to Catania, following the expiration of the loan deal, Sabato remained in Sicily for the 2007–08 Serie A season, under coach

Silvio Baldini Silvio Baldini (born 11 September 1958) is an Italian association football manager, currently in charge of club Pescara. Career Early years Born in Massa but hailing from nearby Carrara, Baldini started his coaching career in 1984 at the a ...

. Under Baldini, the player was used often, and made 19 appearances in the league, helping guide the team to salvation against relegation for the second consecutive season. Sabato again remained in Catania for the

2008–09 Serie A The 2008–09 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 107th season of top-tier Italian football, the 77th in a round-robin tournament. It began on 30 August 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009, with the announcement of the ...

season, under another new coach,

Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently club manager at Serie C club Siracusa. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best ...

. The left back was used just seven times, however in the first portion of the season, and did manage his first Serie A goal, from a free kick, but he was still released as a free agent during the winter transfer market.

Empoli

On 30 January 2009, Sabato officially joined the second division club, and instantly earned a starting position with the club. In the latter portion of the 2008–09 Serie B season, alone, Sabato made an impressive 15 appearances. Despite a fairly good start to his adventure with

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

, the player was surprisingly sold to fellow Serie B club,

Triestina Unione Sportiva Triestina Calcio 1918, commonly referred to US Triestina or just Triestina, is an Italian football club based in Trieste, in the northern Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Originally established in 1918, Triestina was one of the fo ...

, on 14 July 2009.

Triestina

With Triestina, Sabato signed a two-year contract, following his arrival in July 2009. In his first season with the

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

based club, Sabato was a key figure in the team's starting line-up, and made 33 Serie B appearances during the 2009–10 season. Despite his efforts, the club failed to avoid relegation, as they lost the play-off match versus

Padova Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of ...

, following an 18th-place finish in the league table.

Sorrento

On 31 January 2011, he was transferred to

Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...

and went on to make 22 appearances.http://www.tuttocalciatori.net/index.php?mod=cc1&stag=2011-2012&par=720&cl=143&ncl=SORRENTO CALCIO

Outside of football

On 5 January 2005, Cagliari

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

former club legend

Luigi Riva Luigi "Gigi" Riva (; 7 November 1944 – 22 January 2024) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a striker. Considered to be one of the best players of his generation, as well as one of the greatest strikers of all time, Riva enj ...

's number 11 jersey to honour him and his achievements with the club; as the last holder of the number 11 shirt, Rocco Sabato presented Riva with his jersey in the club's official ceremony.

References

External links

* (2004–2010) * (2007–2011) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabato, Rocco 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Potenza Italian men's footballers Footballers from Basilicata Men's association football defenders Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Serie D players US Fiorenzuola 1922 SS players Cosenza Calcio 1914 players Cagliari Calcio players Catania FC players AC Cesena players Empoli FC players US Triestina Calcio 1918 players Sorrento Calcio 1945 players Pisa SC players AC Pavia 1911 SSD players SS Maceratese 1922 players AC Trento 1921 players 21st-century Italian sportsmen