Xavi Roca
Spanish footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francesc Xavier 'Xavi' Roca Mateo (born 19 January 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a right-back.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Francesc Xavier Roca Mateo | ||
| Date of birth | 19 January 1974[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain[1] | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1990–1993 | Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1995 | Barcelona C | 63 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Barcelona B | 71 | (0) |
| 1996–1999 | Barcelona | 1 | (0) |
| 1997–1998 | → Logroñés (loan) | 18 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | → Toledo (loan) | 25 | (0) |
| 1999–2002 | Villarreal | 81 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Espanyol | 1 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Rayo Vallecano | 3 | (0) |
| 2004–2006 | Hospitalet | 46 | (0) |
| 2006–2008 | Sabadell | 54 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Auckland City | 17 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Europa | 9 | (0) |
| Total | 389 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989–1990 | Spain U16 | 9 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | Spain U17 | 8 | (0) |
| 1990–1991 | Spain U18 | 10 | (0) |
| 1995 | Spain U21 | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
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]