Antonio Nocerino (Italian pronunciation: [anˈtɔːnjo notʃeˈriːno]; born 9 April 1985) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He was formerly the head coach of USL Championship club Las Vegas Lights FC.
During his playing career, Nocerino played predominantly in Italy for namely AC Milan, Juventus, Palermo, and in the United States for Orlando City. At international level, he represented the Italy national team, winning a runners-up medal at Euro 2012, and was also a member of the Italy national team that took part at the 2008 Olympics. He used to serve as an academy coach at Orlando City.
Nocerino started playing at the age of five years at a small club in his neighbourhood, coached by his father. When he was 13, he joined the Juventus youth academy. He made his professional debut with Avellino in Serie B on 11 September 2003, drawing 0–0 with Parma.
In August 2004 Nocerino was sold to Genoa in a co-ownership deal for €450,000; in a separate deal Domenico Criscito and Francesco Volpe joined Turin also in co-ownership deals for a total fee of €1.9 million in June 2004.
His first match in Serie A came on 12 February 2006 for Messina, beating Sampdoria 4–2. His first goal in Serie A for Messina was scored on 7 May 2006 against Empoli; it was then stricken off when the game was forfeited. In summer 2006 half of the registration rights of Nocerino was sold to Piacenza from Genoa.
In the 2006–07 Serie B season, at Piacenza, Nocerino started regularly, playing 37 games and scoring six goals. In June 2007, Juventus bought back 50% registration rights of Nocerino, from Piacenza for €3.7 million.
He made his official debut with Juventus playing in the starting XI on the opening day of Serie A against Livorno, which Juventus won 5–1. His performances saw coach Claudio Ranieri play him in the first half of the season. In the second half, with the arrival of Mohamed Sissoko, his opportunity to play diminished. He made 32 league appearances and four in the Coppa Italia.
On 30 May 2008, Nocerino moved permanently to Palermo as part of the transfer that took Amauri to Juventus. Nocerino was priced at €7.5 million. He made his debut in the Rosanero shirt in a 3–1 victory against Roma on 13 September.
In the 2009–10 season, with Walter Zenga as coach, he started again regularly in the first XI. On 23 September 2009, in the home game against Roma, he scored his first goal in Serie A for Palermo. His only other goal that season was scored against Lazio on 21 February 2010.
With the arrival of manager Delio Rossi, he was assigned the task of offensive midfielder, leaving the defensive midfield work to Giulio Migliaccio. He was also used as coverage of the left wing when full-back Federico Balzaretti pushed forward. He closed his second season with Palermo with 35 appearances and two goals in the league, plus three appearances in Coppa Italia.
Playing the quarter-finals in the Coppa Italia, which Palermo won on penalties against Parma, marked his 100th appearance for Palermo. He finished this season with 49 appearances in all competitions, being the most used player in the team and scoring four goals, all in the league.
In the beginning of the 2011–12 season, after playing two matches in the Europa League's third qualifying round against Swiss side FC Thun, he left Palermo, making a total of 122 appearances and scoring six goals during his tenure.
On 31 August 2011, the last day of the Italian transfer window and only an hour before the window ended, Nocerino joined Milan on a five-year contract, for €500,000.
Nocerino made his Milan debut in the first 2011–12 game of the season on 9 September 2011 coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for fellow debutante Alberto Aquilani in a 2–2 home draw against Lazio. He made his UEFA Champions League debut in the next game on 13 September, when Milan drew 2–2 against FC Barcelona.
On 15 October, he scored his first goal in the 3–0 home victory against former club Palermo, completing a great team move led by Antonio Cassano and Robinho. Due to the injury crisis, he played regularly until picking up his fourth caution of the season on 6 November, resulting in a suspension. On 26 October, Nocerino notched a hat-trick for Milan in a 4–1 win against Parma. On 25 February 2012, Nocerino scored against title chaser Juventus in the 1–1 draw, putting his goal tally to eight for the season.
Nocerino scored in Milan's Second-Leg Champions League Quarter-final tie against Barcelona just after the half-hour mark to level the match at 1–1 after Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a penalty. The game ended 3–1 on the night and also on aggregate to Barcelona. After A.C. Milan's elimination from the Champions League and failure to defend their league title, manager Massimiliano Allegri rejected speculation that Nocerino would be sold. Forza Italian Football named Nocerino as the signing of the season, due to his goalscoring attributes. Nocerino finished the season with 10 goals in Serie A, finishing the 2011–12 campaign as the highest-scoring central midfielder, and breaking Romeo Benetti's 1973 club record of 7 goals from midfield in a single season, as Milan finished in second place in the League.
In the summer of 2012, Nocerino took the A.C. Milan squad number 8 following the departure of Gennaro Gattuso to join Swiss club Sion. He said it was 'an honour' to receive the number 8 shirt as a worthy successor to Gattuso. On 16 December 2012, Nocerino scored a goal 35 seconds into the game in which Milan defeated Pescara. After the game, Nocerino told the press that he would like to dedicate his goal to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Nocerino said, "... everything I did today was only for them."
However, as the season progressed, Nocerino considered leaving the club in the summer if he was not guaranteed a regular starting place.