Willyan Rocha

Willyan Rocha
Willyan with CSKA Moscow in 2022
Personal information
Full name Willyan da Silva Rocha
Date of birth (1995-01-27) 27 January 1995 (age 31)
Place of birth Muniz Freire, Brazil
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Al Jazira
Number 4
Youth career
2002–2015 Desportiva Ferroviária
2015 → Flamengo (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2016 Desportiva Ferroviária 21 (1)
2016–2017 Grêmio 0 (0)
2017 → Votuporanguense (loan) 6 (1)
2017–2019 Cova da Piedade 45 (3)
2019–2022 Portimonense 78 (4)
2022–2025 CSKA Moscow 74 (6)
2025– Al Jazira 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 July 2025

Willyan da Silva Rocha (born 27 January 1995) is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a centre-back for Emirati club Al Jazira.

Club career

Early career

Born in Muniz Freire, Espírito Santo, Rocha joined Desportiva Ferroviária's youth setup at the age of seven. On 13 January 2015, he was loaned to the under-20 side of Flamengo for one year.

Rocha returned to Desportiva after Flamengo could not reach an agreement for a permanent transfer, and scored a brace in a friendly against Botafogo on 23 January 2016. He featured regularly during the year's Campeonato Capixaba, and moved to Grêmio on 24 July, after not renewing his contract.

On 8 December 2016, Rocha was loaned to Votuporanguense until the end of the 2017 Campeonato Paulista Série A2. He scored his only goal for the club in a 2–0 home win against Mogi Mirim on 2 April.

Cova da Piedade

On 3 July 2017, Rocha moved abroad and signed a two-year contract with Portuguese LigaPro club Cova da Piedade. He was an undisputed starter for the club, only missing out the first half of the 2018–19 campaign due to injury.

Portimonense

On 28 June 2019, Rocha signed a four-year deal with Primeira Liga side Portimonense. He made his debut in the category on 9 August, starting in a 0–0 home draw against Belenenses SAD.

Rocha scored his first goal in the Portuguese top tier on 16 June 2020, netting the opener in a 1–1 away draw against Santa Clara.

CSKA Moscow

On 1 September 2022, CSKA Moscow announced the signing of Rocha on a contract until the summer of 2025, with the option of an additional year. On 15 August 2024, the contract was extended to June 2027.

Al Jazira

On 12 August 2025, Willyam Rocha moved to Al Jazira in the United Arab Emirates.

Career statistics

As of match played 11 August 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League State League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Desportiva Ferroviária 2014 Capixaba —00———7171
2016 Série D 51160————211
Total 51160———71282
Votuporanguense 2017 Paulista A2 —61————61
Cova da Piedade 2017–18 LigaPro 312—4110——363
2018–19 LigaPro 141—0010——151
Total 453—4120——514
Portimonense 2019–20 Primeira Liga 163—0031——194
2020–21 Primeira Liga 320—10———330
2021–22 Primeira Liga 261—4021——322
2022–23 Primeira Liga 40—————40
Total 784—5052——886
CSKA Moscow 2022–23 Russian Premier League 223—101———324
2023–24 Russian Premier League 242—110——10362
2024–25 Russian Premier League 261—90———351
2025–26 Russian Premier League 20—00——1030
Total 746—301——201067
Al Jazira 2025–26 UAE Pro League 210—3030——270
2026–27 UAE Pro League 00—000010—10
Total 210—303010—280
Career total 22314221422102109130720
  1. ↑ Appearance(s) in Copa Espírito Santo
  2. 1 2 3 4 Appearance(s) in Taça da Liga
  3. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Russian Super Cup
  4. ↑ Appearance(s) in UAE League Cup
  5. ↑ Appearance(s) in AFC Champions League Elite

Honours

Desportiva Ferroviária

CSKA Moscow

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Votuporanguense contrata zagueiro do Grêmio" [Votuporanguense sign Grêmio's defender] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Votu News. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  2. ↑ "Zagueiro capixaba ex-Desportiva e que fez "chororô" para o Botafogo entra na mira do São Paulo" [Capixaba stopper formerly of Desportiva and who did the "whinings" to Botafogo is targeted by São Paulo] (in Brazilian Portuguese). A Gazeta. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Desportiva empresta zagueiro Willyan ao sub-20 do Flamengo por um ano" [Desportiva loan stopper Willyan to the under-20s of Flamengo for one year]. globoesporte.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  4. ↑ "Hoje na 2ª divisão de Portugal, ex-promessa conta por que não ficou no Flamengo" [In the 2nd division of Portugal nowadays, former prospect tells why he did not stay at Flamengo] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ESPN Brasil. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  5. ↑ "Zagueiro Willyan, sobre provocação ao Botafogo: "Emoção do momento"" [Defender Willyan, on provocation to Botafogo: "Heat of the moment"] (in Brazilian Portuguese). GloboEsporte.com. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "Desportiva confirma a negociação do jovem zagueiro Willyan com o Grêmio" [Desportiva confirm the negotiation of young stopper Willyan with Grêmio] (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge. 24 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "Votaporanguense 2 x 0 Mogi Mirim – CAV respira e afunda o Sapão" [Votuporanguense 2–0 Mogi Mirim – CAV take a breather and sink Sapão]. Diário de Votuporanga (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2 April 2017. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  8. ↑ "Central Willyan assina pelo Cova da Piedade por duas épocas" [Stopper Willyan signs for Cova da Piedade for two seasons] (in Portuguese). Record. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Willyan Rocha é reforço do Portimonense" [Willyan Rocha is an addition of Portimonense] (in Portuguese). Portimonense SC. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Виллиан Роша пополнил состав красно-синих". pfc-cska.com/ (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  11. ↑ "ПФК ЦСКА продлил контракт с Виллианом Рошей!" (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 15 August 2024.
  12. ↑ "Виллиан Роша покидает ПФК ЦСКА" [Willyan Rocha leaves PFC CSKA] (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Willyan Rocha at Soccerway
  14. ↑ "Суперфинал LIVE. ЦСКА победил "Краснодар" в серии послематчевых пенальти" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 11 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "ЦСКА – победитель FONBET Кубка России 2024/2025" [CSKA is the winner of FONBET Russian Cup 2024-25] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 1 June 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  16. ↑ "Гол Дивеева принёс ЦСКА победу над "Краснодаром" в Суперкубке России" [Diveyev's goal brought CSKA victory over Krasnodar in Russian Super Cup] (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 12 July 2025.