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FRANCESCO COCO'S FACTS

DOB : January 8th, 1977
Birthplace : Paterno, Catania
Height : 1,81 m
Weight : 78 kg
Position : full left back, but also work as left wing midfielder
Who he is, what he does : a physically strong left-back who is capable of going forward. Can play both in defence and in midfield; concludes easily (from inter.it)

Serie A
Year
Club
Appearances
Goals
1994 - 1997
AC Milan
19
0
1997 -1998
Vicenza
20
0
1998 - 1999
AC Milan
6
0
1999 - 2000
Torino
21
0
2000 - 2001
AC Milan
30
2
2002 - ?
Inter Milan
?
?

La Liga
Year
Club
Appearances
Goals
2001 - 2002
Barcelona
23
0

Champions League
Year
Club
Appearances
Goals
2000 - 2001
AC Milan
8
2
2001 - 2002
Barcelona
5
0

Nazionale (from fifaworldcup.com)
Goals :  0 (as of 27 May 2002)
Caps :  13 (as of 27 May 2002)
Debut :  Romania ( 7 October 2000)
Stats - FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan
MP
Min
G
YC
RC
FC
FS
TC
2
145
0
1
0
3
1
12
Key :
MP - match played
Min - minutes played
G - goals
YC - yellow card
RC - red card
FC - fouls commited
FS - fouls suffered
TC - tackles commited

Profile (from onefootball.com)
Francesco Coco made a surprise move to Barcelona in August 2001 having impressed enough with AC Milan to force his way into the Italian national team. 

Coco burst on to the scene at Milan in the spring of 1994, replacing the injured Paolo Maldini. The Milan stalwart was hardly missed, mainly because Coco was simply magnificent. Not as tall as Maldini, he nevertheless had the same loping stride and physical presence. He became an overnight sensation - and that's where his problems began. 

Since Milan were clearly not about to sell Maldini, he had to be content with sitting on the bench and, after a humdrum season backing up the Milan captain, he was sent to Vicenza on loan. 

At Vicenza, he was beset with injuries and his streak of bad luck continued when he returned to San Siro the following year. He missed most of the season and was loaned out to Torino in 1997-98. 

A lot depends on whether he can stay healthy. Otherwise, he's the total package: fast, skilful, strong in the tackle and an excellent crosser of the ball.

His progress continued in 2000-01. In September 2001, he ran Barcelona ragged in a 2-0 Champions' League win at the San Siro, scoring the first and setting up Oliver Bierhoff for the second. History repeated itself, and within a month he had become the 71st Milan player to represent Italy's senior side in the World Cup qualifying win against Georgia.

The move to Barcelona, therefore, came somewhat out-of-the-blue. New Milan manager Fatih Terim professed a preference for Serginho on the left and deemed Coco to be surplus to requirements after just one game of the 2001-02 season.

He Says: "I didn't think the season would start so well. Things are looking good for me and the team so I am feeling relaxed. But that's precisely why I want to keep my feet on the ground – I know there could be great times ahead. 

"When a player moves on loan, he does so because he agrees with his club that it is the best thing to do. When I was at Vicenza three years ago, I had a terrible knee injury, and last season I needed to play a lot and immediately. This is why I chose to go to Torino, even if then things were not perfect. I will admit that I was afraid that I would not return to Milan, I really felt this."
- November 2000

"My dream was only Milan, but it vanished and Barcelona strongly wanted to have me."
- August 2001

They Say: "Francesco Coco played well last year and this year he has started very well; he could even become one of the regular players."
- Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni

 
This profile is compiled from various sources : inter.it, fifaworldcup.com, and onefootball.com