He signed for Benfica in 2002 after starting out at Braga, going on to appear in 163 competitive matches with the former club and win three major titles, including the 2004–05 Primeira Liga.
Benfica in January 2002 along with teammates Armando Sá and Tiago (in Rocha's case the move was made official in June of the following year).
This included 33 games in European competitions,[5] and he added 25 in the 2004–05 campaign to win the national championship and help put an end to an 11-year drought for the club.
[19] Things improved for the defender when he put in a Player of the match performance in his team's FA Cup semi-final victory over his former side Tottenham.
[20] In summer 2010, Portsmouth offered Rocha an extension,[21] and on 4 September he re-signed with the club,[22] with the two-year deal being officially confirmed six days later.
[40] After making his debut for Portugal on 20 November 2002 against Scotland,[41] Rocha returned for a friendly with Denmark and a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Finland after a three-year absence, as he was not a regular starter at Benfica then;[42] he won the third of his six caps[2] in the former match, a 4–2 loss in Copenhagen.