Francesco Coco (; born 8 January 1977) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a defender. Although naturally right-footed, he played as a left wing-back (his favourite position) or, more commonly, as a left-back. He had spells with both AC Milan and Inter Milan, also spending a season at Barcelona. In his early career, Coco showed much promise and was regarded as a possible successor to Paolo Maldini; however, he failed to live up to expectations.

Coco won two Serie A league titles and represented Italy at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Born in Paternò, Coco spent the majority of his club career with the Milan clubs; first with AC Milan between 1993 and 2002 and later with Inter between 2002 and 2007; he spent the 2001–02 season on loan at FC Barcelona, with generally solid performances (he also had loan spells with Vicenza Calcio and Torino FC). He was part of the Milan teams that won the Serie A in 1995–96 and 1998–99.

In 2002, Milan traded Coco to Inter in a part exchange deal for Clarence Seedorf, worth €28 million. Despite reaching the 2002–03 Champions League semi-finals and winning the 2004–05 Coppa Italia, Coco's spell at Inter was blighted by injuries. Coco has since given interviews stating Inter 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. 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 English club 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. After a loan to Torino for the 2006–07 season, he went back to Inter for the first part of the summer but mutually rescinded his contract with the Milan-based club on 7 September 2007. Later Coco declared his intention to quit football in order to pursue an acting career despite the rumoured interest of MLS sides New England Revolution and New York Red Bulls.

International career

Coco played for the Italy U18 team in the intermediary round of the 1995 UEFA European Under-18 Championship and for 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 under manager Marco Tardelli. Also, Coco played for the victorious Italy U23 team at the 1997 Mediterranean Games.

Off the field

Coco was 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.

  • Serie A: 1995–96, 1998–99

;Inter

  • Mediterranean Games: 1997

References

  • Francesco Coco
  • FootballDatabase provides profile and stats on Francesco Coco
  • Francesco Coco's clothing label
  • Profile at UEFA.com
  • National Team stats. at FIGC official site
  • Profile at tuttocalciatori.net