Marcello Cottafava

He started his career at Sampdoria and promoted to the first team in 1996, but failed to make his appearances in Serie A. From 1997 to 2004 he played in Serie C1 with Saronno, Carrarese, Lecco, Treviso and Giulianova.

Treviso

After loaned to Giulianova, Cottafava returned to Treviso in 2004. He also made his first debut for Serie A on 11 September 2005, after the club get promote to first division.

Lecce

The 2006–07 season began with Treviso, in the cadet series, and he moved to Lecce, a Serie B club, in January. He started for the rest of the league, until he was cautioned for an alleged doping case. On 21 June he was acquitted for not committing the crime: he had used a nasal spray, which had caused an alleged doping effect.

Triestina

On 1 September 2008 he moved to Triestina, where he scored 3 goals in 77 appearances in two seasons. In the pre-season of the 2010–11 season he was put out of the squad by Triestina and then reinstated in January. In July, he rescinded his contract with the Halberd company.

Gubbio

On 22 September 2011, he joined Gubbio. On 5 October 2011, he scored his first goal for Eugubini in a 2–2 match against Brescia. On 5 November, he recovered his first expulsion in a 3–1 defeat against L.R. Vicenza at 58 minutes, with the result still 1–1. He finished the season relegating with 34 appearances and 2 goals.

Latina

On 29 August 2012, he signed an annual contract with Latina. On 30 September 2012 in…

In 2016, he coached the SPAL Under-17, where he helped his club to promote to first division in 2017. On 7 September 2017, he successfully passed UEFA coaching exam that allows him to train all the youth and to be assistant coach in Serie A and Serie B. In the Spring 2 Championship 2017–2018 he placed fifth at a point from the playoffs. In the following year, he finished second in Group A and lost the play-off final against Lazio. On 1 July 2019, he became coach of Sampdoria's Primavera side, signing a contract until 30 June 2020. With the suspension of the championship due to the emergency COVID-19 the team stops at the 7th place in the standings in the play-off area. In the summer of 2020, Cottafava moved to coach Torino's peers. In October 2022, he obtained the UEFA Pro license, the highest training level for a coach.