Rocco Placentino’s story is a journey through passion, grit, and grassroots football power. From playing professionally in Italy to becoming Technical Director at CS Saint-Laurent, Rocco is now helping rewrite Canadian soccer's trajectory—one player, one pitch at a time.
In this episode of The 1st Half Culture Show with Paul Desbaillets on TSN 690, Rocco shares what it was like playing in truffle towns in Italy, how missing a penalty in a promotion final shaped him, and why local moments—like Saint-Laurent’s fairytale match against Toronto FC—mean more than anyone can imagine.
He talks openly about player development, mental toughness, honouring mentors like Jason Di Tullio, and what the 2026 World Cup means for Canada’s next generation.
📍 Watch the full conversation and find out how local legends like Rocco are fueling the fire of football culture in North America.
#RoccoPlacentino #CanadianSoccer #MontrealSoccer #SaintLaurentSC #TSN690 #The1stHalf #GrassrootsFootball #SoccerStories #WorldCup2026 #FootballIsCulture #ACertainStyleOfLife
Popular Podcasts
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com