Luís Rocha (footballer, born 1986)

Luís Carlos Rocha Rodrigues (born 13 August 1986), known as Rocha, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for C.D. Santa Clara as a central defender.

Having played in the lower levels until the age of 26, he spent most of his professional career in the second tier, making over 250 appearances in service of seven clubs and winning promotion at Famalicão, Farense, Chaves, Moreirense and Santa Clara. He also recorded 42 Primeira Liga games for Feirense and had a brief spell in the Belarusian Premier League at Dinamo Minsk.

Early career
Born in Guimarães, Rocha competed in lower league and amateur football until the age of 26, starting out at G.D.U. Torcatense. In 2013 he signed with Segunda Liga club S.C. Covilhã, making his debut in the competition on 11 August of that year in a 1–0 away loss against C.S. Marítimo B. He scored his first goal on 5 October, as the visitors defeated FC Porto B 2–1.

Feirense
On 9 June 2016, after a further two seasons in the second tier with S.C. Freamunde, Rocha joined C.D. Feirense on a one-year contract. His first match in the Primeira Liga took place on 15 August, when he played the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 away win over G.D. Estoril Praia. He added a further 17 appearances until the end of the campaign, helping to an eighth-place finish.

Rocha scored his first goal in the Portuguese top flight on 24 September 2017, but in a 1–4 home loss to C.F. Os Belenenses. With his second, the hosts won 1–0 but he was also sent off in the 36th minute of the fixture against Rio Ave FC.

On 15 June 2018, 31-year-old Rocha moved abroad for the only time in his career, to FC Dinamo Minsk of the Belarusian Premier League. He made nine appearances for the team from the capital city – including his only four European appearances in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers – and scored once to open a 1–1 home draw with FC Dynamo Brest on 28 October.

Second-tier regular
At the end of January 2019, Rocha reached a mutual agreement to end his time in Minsk, and he returned to his country's second tier on a 2$1/2$-year deal at F.C. Famalicão. Having contributed ten games and two goals to their promotion as runners-up, he remained at that level by being loaned to S.C. Farense in August.

On 5 June 2020, after a second consecutive promotion, Rocha moved to G.D. Chaves. He scored five goals in his first season with the Trás-os-Montes club, starting with the opener on 15 October as his team began the campaign with a 4–0 victory at Feirense; on 24 January 2021 he netted both goals of a 2–1 home win over F.C. Arouca.

Having won another promotion, Rocha again opted to remain in the second tier in June 2022, signing for newly relegated Moreirense F.C. on a one-year deal. He won the league in the ensuing season, scoring one goal to open a 3–1 home defeat of F.C. Penafiel on 10 March 2023.

Rocha also achieved promotion as champion in the 2023–24 campaign, with C.D. Santa Clara.

Honours
Moreirense
 * Liga Portugal 2: 2022–23

Santa Clara
 * Liga Portugal 2: 2023–24

Individual
 * Liga Portugal 2 Team of the Season: 2022–23