Pedro Rocha

Pedro Rocha Neves (born 1 October 1994), known as Pedro Rocha, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Athletico Paranaense, on loan from Russian club Spartak Moscow.

Club Career

Early career

Born in Vila Velha, Espirito Santo, Pedro Rocha started his career in an Atletico Mineiro academy in his hometown, before attracting the interest of Sao Paulo. In 2008, aged 13, he joined the latter, but was released just months later.

In 2011 Pedro Rocha joined Juventus-SP, after a partnership with Diadema. With the club he made his senior debut on 20 March 2013, starting in a 3–2 Campeonato Paulista Serie A2 away win against Santo Andre, and scoring a brace through two penalties.

Gremio

On 12 March 2014 Pedro Rocha moved to Gremio on loan until the end of the year, being initially assigned to the under-20s. On 7 January 2015 he was bought outright, and was subsequently promoted to the main squad by manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Pedro Rocha made his Serie A debut on 16 May 2015, starting in a 0–2 away loss against Coritiba. He scored his first goal in the category on 27 June, netting the first in a 2–1 win at Avai; it was also the fastest of the tournament, with only 37 seconds.

Pedro Rocha scored a brace in the first leg of the 2016 Copa do Brasil Finals against Atletico Mineiro, but was subsequently sent off.

Spartak Moscow

On 31 August 2017, he signed with the Russian Premier League champions FC Spartak Moscow.

On 24 February 2021, following the return of Quincy Promes to Spartak, Rocha was removed from Spartak's RPL squad as he was deemed the surplus foreign player by the club (Russian clubs are only allowed to register 8 foreign players at the same time). The club was hoping to sell his rights permanently. He was added to the second-tier FNL squad Spartak-2 Moscow on the same day. He was not registered for Spartak's league roster for the 2021–22 season either.

• Pedro Rocha