Francesco Coco

Francesco Coco
Personal information
Date of birth (1977-01-08) 8 January 1977
Place of birth Paternò, Italy
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position Left back
Youth career
1993–1995 Milan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–2002 Milan 56 (2)
1997–1998 → Vicenza (loan) 20 (0)
1999–2000 → Torino (loan) 21 (0)
2001–2002 → Barcelona (loan) 23 (1)
2002–2007 Internazionale 26 (0)
2005–2006 → Livorno (loan) 28 (0)
2006–2007 → Torino (loan) 3 (0)
Total 177 (3)
National team
1994–1995 Italy U-18 6 (0)
1995–2000 Italy U-21 20 (1)
1997 Italy U-23 2 (0)
2000–2002 Italy 17 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Francesco Coco (born 8 January 1977 in Paternò) is a retired Italian football defender. He has represented Italy at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Coco spent the majority of his club career with the Milan clubs; first with A.C. Milan between 1993 and 2002 and later with F.C. Internazionale between 2002 and 2007. He also had several loan spells with Vicenza Calcio, Torino F.C. and FC Barcelona. He won two Scudetti with Milan.

In 2002, Milan traded Coco to Inter in part exchange for Clarence Seedorf, a deal worth €28 million. Despite reaching the 2002–03 Champions League semi-finals with Inter, Coco's career after joining Inter was blighted by injuries. Coco has since given interviews stating the Nerazzurri made a mistake by letting him undergo back surgery in November 2003, telling him he would be out for no more than a month. In the end he had to recover for two years. He won the Coppa Italia with Inter during the 2004–05 season. In 2005–06, he was loaned to Livorno, after rejecting a move to Newcastle United despite playing a friendly against Yeading F.C. where he impressed in a 5–0 home victory. He played one season at Livorno, and after his loan deal he returned to Inter. During the summer of 2006 he tried to find a new club, but in the end all negotiations failed and Coco remained at Inter. In January 2007, he joined Manchester City on a trial but after three days the club told him he was not in their plans. Later the English newspapers alleged that Manchester City was no longer interested in him because he had turned up for training smoking a cigarette.[1] After a loan to Torino for the 2006–07 season, he went back to Inter for the first part of the summer but mutually rescinded his contract with the Milan-based club on 7 September 2007.[2] Later Coco declared his intention to quit football in order to pursue an acting career[3] despite the rumoured interest of MLS sides New England Revolution and New York Red Bulls. He then accepted to appear to L'Isola dei Famosi, Italian celebrity adaptation of TV format Survivor, which he abandoned voluntarily days after the beginning of the show.

International career

Coco played for the Italy U18 team in the intermediary round of 1995 European Under-18 Football Championship and the Italy U21 team at the 1996 and 1998 UEFA U-21 Championship qualifying phases, playing also in the final round in the successful 2000 campaign. Also, Coco played for the victorious Italy U23 team at the 1997 Mediterranean Games.

Coco's full debut for the Italy was against Romania, on 7 October 2000, a 2002 World Cup qualifying match. He also played for Italy in 2002 FIFA World Cup, being last selected on September 2002. He achieved a total of 17 caps with the azzurri.

Style of play

Coco was a quick, physical, and tactically versatile player, who was primarily deployed as an offensive-minded fullback or as a wingback, due to his defensive and offensive attributes. Although he was naturally right footed, he was also capable of playing on the left flank, and was known for his strong tackling and crossing ability. Due to his pace, stamina, skill, and technique, he was also occasionally utilised as a wide midfielder. Despite his talent, he was often injury-prone, and his chances were often limited both at club and international level, due to the presence of Paolo Maldini in his position.[4][5][6]

Off the field

Coco is not only a football player but also a businessman. Together with his father Antonio, they own shops and he has his own clothing label called "Urban 77". Coco is a celebrity in Italy and is well known in the party and society scene in Italy. He also wrote the foreword for the recently published book Mio marito è un calciatore (My husband is a footballer). Coco also famously had a long relationship with the Italian actress, showgirl, and model Manuela Arcuri.

As of 8 June 2011, it has been reported on Twitter that Francesco Coco is working as a real estate agent in Italy.

Honours

Club

Milan[7]
Inter[7]

International

Italy

References

  1. ↑ "Fuma durante l'allenamento" Il Manchester City liquida Coco – Calcio – Sport – Repubblica.it
  2. ↑ "Coco contract dissolved". Inter.it. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007.,
  3. ↑ "Francesco goes to Hollywood". Football Italia. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
  4. ↑ "Lotta per la coppa" (in Italian). RaiSport. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "MEMENTO - Francesco Coco, dal Milan all'Isola dei Famosi". fantagazzetta.com. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Italy squad at a glance". BBC. 14 November 2000. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Francesco Coco". Eurosport. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
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