A member of the Maratona Clube de Portugal, Rocha made his global-level debut at the age of 28 at the 2005 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, although he managed only 115th place in the men's short race. The following year he won the bronze medal over 5000 metres at the 2006 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics. He dipped under 14 minutes for the event in Gijón in July, setting a personal best of 13:51.06 minutes. In October he ran for his club at the European Club's Half Marathon Championship and came seventh in a time of 1:04:31 hours. At the Portugal Half Marathon in Lisbon, Rocha managed sixth place in a Portuguese and Kenyan field.