In Conversation With: Rocco Placentino

May 23, 2026

"On Falling in Love With Football"

It was just in our family.

My dad came here at 19 years old. With my older brother being four years older than me, I was introduced to this beautiful sport at a very young age. At two, three years old, I was already kicking around a ball.

Besides my family, my wife and my kids, it’s been my first love and my whole life.

I just love this sport.

"On What Set Him Apart as a Player"

A good mindset. I loved being the underdog. I loved that pressure.

There was always an obstacle to overcome and I always believed that in life, if you have solutions and you’re a positive person, you can overcome everything.

I beat all odds, whether it was playing on the national team, playing with my hometown Montreal Impact, or playing eight seasons in Italy.

It was just never giving up.

"On Being a Canadian Footballer in his Era"

When I moved to Europe at almost 17, there was no respect for a Canadian. Even though I was from Italian descent, they saw me as a foreigner taking one of their teammates spots.

Those first two years were very difficult. It was hard to get in there circle. But I didn’t back down. I worked my tail off every day.

Today it’s a lot easier thanks to guys like Alphonso Davies. But for guys like myself or Patrice Bernier, it wasn’t easy to see Canadians playing soccer.

It was very difficult, but it made me who I am today.

"On Footballers from Quebec"

Honestly Quebec is a melting pot of crazy talent. It’s street ballers. Here we say in French, jeu de la rue.

It’s kids that come from Algerian, Tunisian, Congo, Italian, Greek, Mexican backgrounds. And then the French Canadians. In Saint Laurent I dealt with over 160 different nationalities. It was the best times of my life.

We’re all immigrants. Our parents or grandparents immigrated from different countries. But now we’re proud Canadians.

There’s so much talent here. They just need a bit of structure and a bit of a professional environment.

"Why Quebec Football Is Different"

There’s Canada and then there’s Quebec.

Quebec always does things differently, not only in soccer, and it’s not always a good thing, but we’re just different.

When it comes to football, Quebec is not allowed to have sanctioned academies. Believe it or not, it’s just amateur clubs. Besides CF Montreal Academy, which is only 15+ and only allowed to take a certain amount of players, everybody else plays club ball.

It’s pretty crazy knowing we don’t have all these amazing infrastructures or academies.

But now with Supra, hopefully things will change.

"On What it Means to be FC Supra President"

President for me is just a title. I like building things. I like leaving a mark.

Whatever I did for Saint-Laurent. I want to do for the whole province, and I mean that. I want to change the way football is seen in Quebec, but in harmony, not against anybody. I just want to bring my vision, my passion.

I want to connect it with every amateur kid that plays, whether it’s for fun or because they want to go to the next level.

I think my energy speaks for itself, and I want to transmit that to the whole province.

"On the next Generation of Canadian Football"

We have a World Cup and we’re in a position where Canada has to leave players home. Think about that. We never had these problems, but they’re good problems.

The country is producing and developing good young talent that gets to showcase itself at different levels. There’s so many Canadians now.

I’m a proud Quebecer, but I’m definitely a proud Canadian. To see where soccer it is today, honestly, I wish I was born in this era. But I’m very happy to say that I gave a bit to pave the way.

Back in the day, we ate a lot of shit. It wasn’t easy. But being Canadian to me is such an honour. And to see what soccer has come in 2026

It’s just begun.