Xavi Roca

Xavi Roca
Personal information
Full name	Francesc Xavier Roca Mateo
Date of birth	19 January 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Barcelona, Spain
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Right-back
Youth career
1990–1993	Barcelona
Senior career*
Years	Team
1993–1995	Barcelona C
1994–1997	Barcelona B
1996–1999	Barcelona
1997–1998	→ Logroñés (loan)
1998–1999	→ Toledo (loan)
1999–2002	Villarreal
2002–2003	Espanyol
2003–2004	Rayo Vallecano
2004–2006	Hospitalet
2006–2008	Sabadell
2008–2009	Auckland City
2009–2010	Europa
Total
International career
1989–1990	Spain U16
1990–1991	Spain U17
1990–1991	Spain U18
1995	Spain U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Francesc Xavier 'Xavi' Roca Mateo (born 19 January 1974) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a right-back.

Club career

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Roca joined FC Barcelona's academy at 16. He spent three professional seasons as captain of their reserves in the Segunda División,^[2] and his input with the first team consisted of 90 minutes in La Liga in a 2–2 away draw against Deportivo de La Coruña on 26 May 1996;^[3] additionally, for two consecutive years, he was loaned to CD Logroñés and CD Toledo in the second division.^[4]^[5]

Released in summer 1999, Roca remained in the second tier with Villarreal CF.^[6] He was first-choice in his first season as the club returned to the top flight after one year,^[7] then totalled 50 games over the next two as they managed to stay afloat.

Roca signed a two-year contract with top-division RCD Espanyol on 24 May 2002.^[8] He left after only one and two competitive appearances, returning to division two with Rayo Vallecano on a three-year deal.^[9]

Before retiring at the age of 36, Roca competed in the lower leagues and his native region, with CE L'Hospitalet, CE Sabadell FC and CE Europa.^[10]^[11] He also spent one year in the New Zealand Football Championship with Auckland City FC,^[12] where he suffered a serious knee injury in his debut.^[13]

Subsequently, Roca worked as sporting director at Sabadell,^[14]^[11] AEK Larnaca FC (Cypriot First Division)^[15]^[16] and Panathinaikos FC (Super League Greece).^[17]^[18]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Xavier "XAVI" ROCA". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Mínguez, Antonio (8 July 1997). "Costas medita su respuesta al Celta" [Costas thinking about what his reply to Celta will be]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Sanchis, Alberto (27 May 1996). "Fiesta Bebeto, golazo de Pep" [Bebeto party, Pep wonder goal]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Alacid, Jorge (27 July 1997). "La puerta sigue abierta" [Door remains open]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ "El Barça cede a Roca al Toledo" [Barça loan Roca to Toledo]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 1 July 1998. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Arquimbau, José María (9 July 1999). "Firmaron Roca y López Vallejo" [Roca and López Vallejo signed]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ "Salto a Primera" [Jump to Primera] (in Spanish). Villarreal CF. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ "Fichado el defensa Xavi Roca" [Defender Xavi Roca signed]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 24 May 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Garrido, Francisco José (31 July 2003). "Xavi Roca firmará por tres años" [Xavi Roca will sign for three years]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Ayala, Manuel (28 July 2006). "El Sabadell vuelve a ilusionar a la afición" [Sabadell put fire back in hearts of faithful]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Xavi Roca no es retira encara i fitxa per l'Europa" [Xavi Roca does not retire yet and signs for Europa]. El Punt (in Catalan). 24 June 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ "La Liga defender signs with Auckland City". Stuff. 22 September 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ "Xavi Roca se 'rompe' en su debut en Nueva Zelanda" [Xavi Roca 'breaks' in New Zealand debut]. Marca (in Spanish). 3 November 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Quintana, Toni (28 November 2013). "El Sabadell prescinde de su director deportivo, Xavi Roca" [Sabadell release their sporting director, Xavi Roca]. Sport (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ "Επίσημη ανακοίνωση" [Official announcement] (in Greek). AEK Larnaca. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
^ "Xavi Roca vuelve al AEK Laranca" [Xavi Roca returns to AEK Laranca]. Sport (in Spanish). 15 February 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ Manchón, Martín (30 June 2020). "Xavi Roca: "Lo más sensato ahora es apostar por gente de la casa"" [Xavi Roca: "The wisest thing to do now is bet on homegrown players"]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
^ "Xavi Roca". Panathinaikos F.C. Retrieved 12 April 2021.