The setter Francesco Cottarelli, born in 1996, winner of the DelMonte® Coppa Italia Serie A3 and the DelMonte® Supercoppa Serie A3 in the season just ended, arrives at Pool Libertas Cantù. But not just third national category for him: he has already been on the roster of Piacenza, Padova and Taranto in the SuperLega, and with the latter he also won promotion from Serie A2 Credem Banca in the 2020/2021 season.
Coach Alessandro Mattiroli comments on the new arrival: “Francesco is a player who I saw play a lot last year, and he impressed me both with his characteristics and with his management of the team. He is a very physical setter, with important centimeters and physicality, and he also impressed me with how he managed his attackers. I am very happy to be able to have a setter of this level among us, given that he confirmed his qualities in Palmi.”
These, however, are the player’s words: “The call came from Cantù, and I was flattered by having received the proposal from a historic Serie A2 club, a category in which I have played but never as a ‘first’. Being the starting setter is a great challenge for me: you have to be good at ‘feeling the moments’, you have to know your players well, and I am very stimulated by this challenge. I know my future teammates, and I’m happy with the ones who will be there. The championship will be strange for me: I see a gap between the top teams, such as Brescia, Catania and Cuneo, compared to the others; I see many teams that will change the roster and have made ‘bets’, and therefore we will have to see whether these bets will pay off or not. There are many young guys who have done well in Serie A3, but Serie A2 is another category, and we will need to find the right mix. On a personal level, I would like to continue my growth path, especially in managing the team. I will play with important players, who I know and have played against, and I know I can count on them for this.”
THE BOARD
FRANCESCO COTTARELLI
BORN IN: Legnago (VR)
ON: 10/16/1996
HEIGHT: 196cm
ROLE: setter
CAREER:
2010-2013: BluVolley Verona (Youth)
2013-2015: Isola Della Scala (B)
2015-2018: LPR Piacenza (A1)
2018-2020: Kioene Padova (A1)
2020-2021: Prisma Taranto (A2)
2021-2022: Aci Castello system (A3)
2022-2023: Gioiella Prisma Taranto (A1)
2023-2024: OmiFer Palmi (A3)
2024-…: Pool Libertas Cantù (A2)
AWARDS
Promotion from Serie A2 to SuperLega (2021)
DelMonte® Italian Cup Serie A3 (2024)
DelMonte® Super Cup Serie A3 (2024)
