Francesco Coco (; born 8 January 1977) is an Italian retired footballer who played as a defender. Although naturally right-footed, he played as a left wing-back (his favourite position) or, more commonly, as a left-back. He had spells with both AC Milan and Inter Milan, also spending a season at Barcelona. In his early career, Coco showed much promise and was regarded as a possible successor to Paolo Maldini; however, he failed to live up to expectations. Coco won two Serie A league titles and represented Italy at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Club career Born in Paternò, Coco spent the majority of his club career with the Milan clubs; first with A.C. Milan between 1993 and 2002 and later with Inter between 2002 and 2007; he spent the 2001–02 season on loan at FC Barcelona, with generally solid performances (he also had loan spells with Vicenza Calcio and Torino F.C.). He was part of the Milan teams that won the Serie A in 1995–96 and 1998–99. In 2002, Milan traded Coco to Inter in a part exchange deal for Clarence Seedorf, worth €28 million. Despite reaching the 2002–03 Champions League semi-finals and winning the 2004–05 Coppa Italia, Coco's spell at Inter was blighted by injuries. Coco has since given interviews stating Inter made a mistake by letting him undergo back surgery in November 2003, telling him he would be out for no more than a month. In the end, he had to recover for two years. In 2005–06, he was loaned to Livorno, after rejecting a move to Newcastle United despite playing a friendly against Yeading F.C. where he impressed in a 5–0 home victory. He played one season at Livorno, and after his loan deal, he returned to Inter. During the summer of 2006, he tried to find a new club, but in the end, all negotiations failed and Coco remained at Inter. In January 2007, he joined English club Manchester City on a trial but after three days the club told him he was not in their plans. Later the English newspapers alleged that Manchester City was no longer interested in him because he had turned up for training smoking a cigarette. After a loan to Torino for the 2006–07 season, he went back to Inter for the first part of the summer but mutually rescinded his contract with the Milan-based club on 7 September 2007. Later