Benfica A product of hometown's
S.L. Benfica's youth system,
Lisbon-born Rosa joined the club at the age of nine. In a
2006–07 end-of-season
friendly with
AEK Athens FC, courtesy of manager
Fernando Santos, he made his debut with the first team, replacing legendary
Rui Costa. He eventually returned to the juniors, scoring 18 goals in his last year in the category. Rosa would be loaned by Benfica in the following three seasons, always to clubs in the
Segunda Liga. He made his professional debut on 31 August 2008, playing 17 minutes for
G.D. Estoril Praia in a 0–0 home draw against
U.D. Oliveirense, and was voted the league's
Young Player of the Month in December 2008. He scored ten goals in the
2009–10 campaign for
A.D. Carregado (11 overall) who were competing at that level for the first time ever, eventually being relegated. In
2010–11, with
C.F. Os Belenenses, Rosa was often played as a
second striker instead of his favoured
attacking midfielder position. He finished with 11 goals in all competitions, and was named the
Player of the Year. In the following summer, Rosa was called to Benfica's first team along with fellow youth graduates
Nélson Oliveira,
Rúben Pinto and
David Simão. However, it was soon after announced that the club and Belenenses had reached an agreement on extending the loan for the entire
2011–12 season: he continued with his goalscoring form and ended his second stint as team top scorer, also being voted the division two's Breakthrough Player of the Year. After his stint at Belenenses, Rosa was linked with
Vitória de Setúbal, but he eventually returned to Benfica, being given the
captain armband at
their reserves. On 27 October 2012 he was called by first-team coach
Jorge Jesus for a
Primeira Liga match against
Gil Vicente FC, but did not leave
the bench.
Belenenses Rosa signed for former club Belenenses on 2 August 2013, on a five-year contract. He played his first game in the
Portuguese top flight on the 18th, replacing
Fredy for the last 30 minutes of a 0–3 defeat against
Rio Ave F.C. at the
Estádio do Restelo. On 13 March 2016, Rosa scored his team's second goal in a 3–0 home win over
S.C. Braga. It was eventually voted best goal of the month.
Cova da Piedade Rosa dropped back to the second tier in January 2018, signing an 18-month deal with
C.D. Cova da Piedade instead of several offers from the top flight. Released at the end of his contract with the team from
Almada, he remained out of work until January 2020, when he rejoined the same club until the end of
the season. On 9 September 2020, Rosa was one of several players given new contracts, as the side avoided their scheduled relegation due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. ==International career==