Diego Cocca

Diego Martín Cocca (born 11 February 1972) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a right-back.

Playing career

Club Cocca started his career with River Plate in 1990. He was part of the squad that won the Apertura 1991 title. Subsequently, the defender had spells with Deportivo Español and Ferro Carril Oeste in the Argentine Primera División, before joining Lleida in Spain for the 1996–97 season.

Cocca returned to Argentina in 1997 to play for Argentinos Juniors. In 1999, he went to Mexico to play for Atlas.

In his later career, he had two spells with Banfield, and played for Veracruz and Querétaro in Mexico. He then returned to Argentinos Juniors in 2005. In 2006, he retired at the age of 34.

International In 1991, Cocca was selected to join the Argentina U20 team to play in the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Managerial career

Early career Cocca took his first step into management by taking over at Comisión de Actividades Infantiles in the Argentine second division. On 29 October 2008, he took over managerial duties at first division team Godoy Cruz, after then-coach Daniel Oldrá stepped down to return to the club's youth divisions. On 3 November 2009, Cocca left Godoy Cruz.

On 23 December 2009, Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata hired Cocca as its coach on a one-year deal. The former defender helped Gimnasia avoid relegation from the first division during the 2009–10 season, after defeating Atlético de Rafaela in the relegation playoff. However, Cocca resigned from his managerial duties after the 8th fixture of the 2010–11 season, due to the team's bad results during the start of the season.

On 21 February 2011, Cocca was named manager of Mexican side Santos Laguna. On 4 September, he was sacked from his job after a series of defeats.

During the subsequent decade, Cocca managed multiple clubs, namely Huracán, Defensa y Justicia, Racing Club, and Rosario Central in Argentina, in addition to Millonarios in Colombia and Tijuana in Mexico.

2020 - present In August 2020, Cocca assumed the role of head coach at Atlas. Under his leadership, the club won two consecutive league titles, bringing an end to a 70-year drought.

On 16 November 2022, Tigres UANL appointed Cocca as their new head coach. Following the disclosure of his private negotiations with the Mexican Football Federation for the role of the national team's manager, Cocca was relieved of his duties on 8 February 2023.

On 10 February 2023, Cocca became the manager of the Mexico national team. On 19 June, following a disappointing showing at the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals that included a 3–0 semifinal loss to the United States, he was dismissed from his position.

On 14 December 2024, Cocca was appointed manager of La Liga side Real Valladolid, signing a contract until the end of the season. On 17 February 2025, he was relieved of his duties after just eight games in charge.

On 28 May 2025, Cocca was named manager of Talleres back in his home country. On 8 July, Cocca resigned from his position without having coached a single match.

On 12 August 2025, Cocca took on the position of head coach at Atlas, starting his second spell with the club. On 13 July 2026, he left his position after failing to reach an agreement on renewing his contract with the team's new management.

Managerial statistics

Honours Player River Plate Primera División Argentina: Apertura 1991

Manager Racing Primera División: 2014 Transición

Atlas Liga MX: Apertura 2021, Clausura 2022 Campeón de Campeones: 2022 Individual Liga MX Best Manager: 2021–22 Liga MX All-Star: 2022