Pedro Rocha

Pedro Virgilio Rocha Franchetti (; 3 December 1942 – 2 December 2013) was a Uruguayan footballer who played 52 games for the Uruguay national team between 1961 and 1974. Nicknamed "el Verdugo" ("the Executioner"), he was a highly skillful midfielder and a prolific goalscorer, regarded by Pelé as "one of the 5 best players in the world". He was listed by the IFFHS as the 37th greatest South American player of the XXth century.

Biography Rocha is the first player to appear in four consecutive World Cups for the Uruguay national team: 1962, 1966, 1970 and 1974, and remained the only one until 2022. He also played in the Copa América in 1967.

At club level he played most of his career for Peñarol and São Paulo in Brazil.

During his time with Peñarol, the club won eight Uruguayan league titles (1959–1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968), three Copa Libertadores (1960, 1961, 1966) the Copa Intercontinental in 1961 and 1966 and two editions of the Uruguayan Copa Competencia in 1964 and 1967.

In 1970 Rocha joined São Paulo F.C. where he helped the team obtain the Campeonato Paulista in 1971 and 1975. He was the championship top scorer in 1972. In 1977, his final year with the club they became national champions for the first time in their history.

Later in his career he played for Coritiba where he won Campeonato Paranaense championship, Palmeiras and Bangu in Brazil. His last clubs were Deportivo Neza and Monterrey in Mexico in 1979 and 1980.

He coached Japan's J.League club Kyoto Purple Sanga in 1997.

He suffered from mesencephalic atrophy, a serious degenerative illness that affected his speech and his movements, paralyzing part of his body and confining him to a wheelchair. He died on 2 December 2013 in São Paulo, one day before completing 71 years.

Career statistics Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours Peñarol Primera División: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968 Copa Libertadores: 1960, 1961, 1966 Intercontinental Cup: 1961, 1966 Intercontinental Champions' Supercup: 1969

São Paulo Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 1977 Campeonato Paulista: 1971, 1975

Uruguay Copa América: 1967

Individual Uruguayan Primera División Top Scorer: 1963, 1965, 1968 Copa América Best Player: 1967 Intercontinental Champions' Supercup Top Scorer: 1968, 1969 Campeonato Brasileiro Top Scorer: 1972 Bola de Prata: 1973 Copa Libertadores Top Scorer: 1974 IFFHS Uruguayan Men's Dream Team (Team B)