Team Preview

European Championship Tour
€ 200,000 CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024
August 14 - 18, 2024

(7) Samuele Cottafava/Paolo Nicolai, Italy

Samuele Cottafava
Italy

Photo: FIVB

Personal Info

Birth Date:

Nov 1, 1998 (27 yrs old)

Home Town:

Modena

Height:

193 cm (6'4")

Weight:

82 kg (180 lb)

Seasons:

Tournaments:

Career Wins:

Career CEV Best:

4th (2 times)

Career Winnings:

US$198,880.76

Paolo Nicolai
Italy

Photo: FIVB

Personal Info

Birth Date:

Aug 6, 1988 (37 yrs old)

Home Town:

Ortona

Height:

203 cm (6'8")

Weight:

91 kg (200 lb)

Seasons:

Tournaments:

177

Career Wins:

Career CEV Wins:

Career Winnings:

US$788,117.89

Awards

Most Improved Player 2012
Best Offensive Player 2014
Best Blocker 2016

Team Career Summary

Tour	Played	1	2	3	4	5	7	9	13	17	25	Money
CEV	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	US$18,404.20
FIVB	34	1	3	3	2	8	0	11	3	3	0	US$319,750.00
Overall	37	1	3	3	4	8	0	12	3	3	0	US$338,154.20

Previous The Hague Results

Year	Partner - Result	Partner - Result
FIVB 2009	Did not play	Matteo Ingrosso - 13th
FIVB 2011	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 5th
FIVB 2013	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 17th
FIVB 2014	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 17th
FIVB 2015	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 17th
FIVB 2017	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 3rd
2018	Did not play	Daniele Lupo - 17th

Recent Results

Tour	Date	Tournament	Seed	Finish	Points	Money
FIVB	7/27-8/10/2024	Olympic Games Paris 2024	12	9th	0	US$0.00
FIVB	7/10-14/2024	Elite16 Vienna	8	13th	460	US$5,000.00
FIVB	7/3-7/2024	Elite16 Gstaad	9	4th	900	US$10,000.00
FIVB	6/5-9/2024	Elite16 Ostrava	8	5th	760	US$8,000.00
FIVB	5/22-26/2024	BPT Elite16 Espinho	7	9th	600	US$6,000.00
FIVB	4/17-21/2024	Elite16 Tepic	6	13th	460	US$5,000.00
FIVB	3/5-9/2024	Elite16 Doha	4	5th	760	US$8,000.00
FIVB	12/6-9/2023	BPT Finals Doha 2023	8	5th	0	US$20,000.00
FIVB	11/22-26/2023	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	5	2nd	1100	US$20,000.00
FIVB	10/6-15/2023	Beach Volleyball World Championships	8	9th	800	US$11,000.00
FIVB	9/27-10/1/2023	Elite16 Paris	6	5th	760	US$8,000.00
FIVB	8/16-20/2023	Elite16 Hamburg	13, Q3	2nd	1100	US$20,000.00

CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024 Matches

Date	Bracket	Opponent	Score	Time
Wed, 8/14/2024	Pool G	Dirk Boehle / Mees Sengers, Netherlands (26)	Won 21-14, 21-18	0:34
Thu, 8/15/2024	Pool G	Julian Horl / Alexander Horst, Austria (23)	Won 21-11, 20-22, 15-12	0:48
Thu, 8/15/2024	Pool G	Arnaud Gauthier-Rat / Teo Rotar, France (10)	Won 21-23, 21-10, 15-0	0:37
Fri, 8/16/2024	Winner 2	Joaquin Bello / Luis Javier Bello, England (18)	Won 21-19, 21-18	0:40
Fri, 8/16/2024	Winner 3	Adrian Gavira / Pablo Herrera, Spain (15)	Won 21-23, 21-17, 15-13	0:54
Fri, 8/16/2024	Semi-Finals	Nils Ehlers / Clemens Wickler, Germany (3)	Lost 21-18, 17-21, 14-16	0:57
Fri, 8/16/2024	Bronze Medal	Matthew Immers / Steven van de Velde, Netherlands (4)	Lost 21-18, 17-21, 14-16	0:57

Team Finishes By Tournament Type

Tournament Type	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-6th	7-8th	9-12th	13-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
Olympic Games	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$0.00
World Championships	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	$22,000.00
World Tour Finals	3	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	$77,500.00
Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	22	1	2	1	2	6	0	4	3	3	0	0	$194,000.00
Challenge/Four Star/Open	6	0	1	1	0	1	0	3	0	0	0	0	$26,250.00
Confederation Championship	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$16,500.00
Total	37	1	3	3	4	8	0	12	3	3	0	0	$336,250.00

Individual Finishes by Tournament Type

Samuele Cottafava												Paolo Nicolai
Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Tournament Type	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$0.00	Olympic Games	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	$0.00
2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	$11,000.00	World Championships	8	0	0	0	0	1	4	3	0	0	$41,500.00
4	0	0	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	$40,750.00	World Tour Finals	8	0	0	2	1	3	1	1	0	0	$99,250.00
26	1	2	1	2	6	10	4	0	0	$103,750.00	Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	77	2	6	6	4	10	27	16	4	0	$423,700.00
18	0	1	1	1	2	4	4	1	0	$26,750.00	Challenge/Four Star/Open	50	2	4	4	1	15	10	8	5	0	$134,337.50
11	3	1	1	0	2	2	2	0	0	$2,575.00	Futures/Three Star/Two Star/One Star	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	$6,250.00
											U21 World Championships	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
											U18/19 World Championships	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
5	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	$8,750.00	Confederation Championship	14	3	0	1	3	1	4	1	1	0	$52,875.00
67	4	4	4	5	11	21	10	4	0	$193,575.00	Total	168	9	13	14	9	32	47	30	10	0	$757,912.50

Team Finishes by Season

			Results												Matches
Season	Assoc	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-6th	7-8th	9-12th	13-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Won	Lost	Pct
2022	FIVB	12	1	1	2	0	3	0	3	1	1	0	0	$149,250.00	38	22	63.3 %
2022	CEV	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$2,500.00	2	1	66.7 %
2023	FIVB	13	0	2	1	0	3	0	5	0	2	0	0	$111,000.00	34	25	57.6 %
2023	CEV	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$7,000.00	4	2	66.7 %
2024	FIVB	7	0	0	0	1	2	0	2	2	0	0	0	$42,000.00	13	16	44.8 %
2024	CEV	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$7,000.00	5	2	71.4 %
Total	FIVB	32	1	3	3	1	8	0	10	3	3	0	0	$302,250.00	85	63	57.4 %
Total	CEV	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$16,500.00	11	5	68.8 %

Individual Finishes by Season

Samuele Cottafava													Paolo Nicolai
Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)	Season	Association	Played	Gold	Silver	Bronze	4th	5-8th	9-16th	17-24th	25th	Lower	Winnings (US$)
											2006	FIVB Age Group WC	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	$0.00
											2007	FIVB Age Group WC	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
											2007	CEV Under Age	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
											2008	FIVB	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	0	$7,550.00
											2008	FIVB Age Group WC	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
											2008	CEV	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	$900.00
											2009	FIVB	6	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	1	0	$16,725.00
											2009	CEV	5	0	0	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	$2,675.00
											2010	FIVB	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	2	0	$13,450.00
											2010	CEV Under Age	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00
											2011	FIVB	12	0	0	0	0	3	3	2	1	3	$31,750.00
											2011	CEV	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	$250.00
											2012	FIVB	9	0	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	0	$45,550.00
											2013	FIVB	12	0	1	3	0	0	7	1	0	0	$56,600.00
											2013	CEV	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	$3,500.00
											2014	FIVB	9	2	1	0	1	0	3	2	0	0	$93,500.00
											2014	CEV	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$10,000.00
											2015	FIVB	11	0	0	1	0	3	5	1	1	0	$58,000.00
											2015	CEV	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	$2,250.00
											2016	FIVB	10	1	3	0	0	2	1	2	1	0	$35,287.50
											2016	CEV	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$10,000.00
											2017	FIVB	9	0	2	3	0	1	0	3	0	0	$64,750.00
											2017	CEV	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	$10,000.00
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	$0.00	2017	CEV Under Age
											2018	FIVB	8	0	1	1	0	2	2	2	0	0	$47,500.00
											2018	CEV	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	$500.00
6	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	1	0	$2,675.00	2019	FIVB	9	0	0	0	1	6	1	1	0	0	$39,000.00
											2019	CEV	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	$2,000.00
1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	$0.00	2019	CEV Under Age
3	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	$800.00	2020	FIVB	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	$5,000.00
											2020	CEV	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	$5,000.00
8	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	4	$3,750.00	2021	FIVB	7	0	0	0	1	4	2	0	0	0	$30,500.00
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	$250.00	2021	CEV	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$1,250.00
12	1	1	2	0	3	4	1	0	0	$74,625.00	2022	FIVB	12	1	1	2	0	3	4	1	0	0	$74,625.00
1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$1,250.00	2022	CEV	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	$1,250.00
13	0	2	1	0	3	5	2	0	0	$55,500.00	2023	FIVB	13	0	2	1	0	3	5	2	0	0	$55,500.00
1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	$3,500.00	2023	CEV	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	$3,500.00
7	0	0	0	1	2	4	0	0	0	$21,000.00	2024	FIVB	7	0	0	0	1	2	4	0	0	0	$21,000.00
1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	$3,500.00	2024	CEV	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	$3,500.00
55	4	3	4	4	10	16	8	2	4	$166,850.00	Total	Total	175	9	13	16	9	33	48	33	10	4	$752,862.50

Team Match Records

	Won 1st Set								Lost 1st Set								2 Set Matches		3 Set Matches		By Forfeit		All Matches
Season	Won 2-0		Won 2-1		Lost 2-1		Overall		Won 2-1		Lost 2-1		Lost 2-0		Overall		Overall		Overall		Won	Lost	Overall
Overall	6	50.0%	2	16.7%	4	33.3%	8-4	66.7%	3	75.0%	0	0.0%	1	25.0%	3-1	75.0%	6-1	85.7%	5-4	55.6%	0	0	11-5	68.8%
2023-2024	4	44.4%	2	22.2%	3	33.3%	6-3	66.7%	3	75.0%	0	0.0%	1	25.0%	3-1	75.0%	4-1	80.0%	5-3	62.5%	0	0	9-4	69.2%
Against the Field	2	33.3%	2	33.3%	2	33.3%	4-2	66.7%	2	66.7%	0	0.0%	1	33.3%	2-1	66.7%	4-2	66.7%	8-4	66.7%	0	0	6-3	66.7%

Team Match Records by Round

	Country Quota		Qualifier		Pool Play		Lucky Loser		Elimination Rounds		Semi-Finals		Bronze Medal		Gold Medal		Overall
Tournament Type	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost	Won	Lost
Olympic Games	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
World Championships	0	0	0	0	5	1	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	3
World Tour Finals	0	0	0	0	4	8	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	6	10
Elite/Major Series/Five Star/Grand Slam	0	0	10	2	32	27	0	0	10	10	3	3	1	2	1	2	57	46
Challenge/Four Star/Open	0	0	0	0	10	2	0	0	5	4	1	1	1	0	0	1	17	8
Confederation Championship	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	0	4	1	0	2	0	2	0	0	11	5
Total	0	0	10	2	60	39	0	0	22	19	4	7	3	4	1	3	100	74

Head to Head Results
Cottafava/Nicolai lead the series against the field 26-23 (Lead 9 Series, Trail 7 Series, 2 Series Tied)

Date	Tour	Tournament	Round	Winning Team	Seed	Losing Team	Seed	Score	Time
Trail the series against # 3 Ehlers/Wickler, Germany 1-3
8/16/24	CEV	CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024	Semi-Finals	Ehlers/Wickler	3	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	18-21, 21-17, 16-14	0:57
3/8/24	FIVB	Elite16 Doha	Winner 2	Ehlers/Wickler	8	Cottafava/Nicolai	4	21-18, 21-19	0:36
8/18/23	FIVB	Elite16 Hamburg	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	Ehlers/Wickler	4	27-25, 21-19	0:42
4/29/23	FIVB	Elite16 Uberlândia	Winner 1	Ehlers/Wickler	6	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	24-22, 21-17	0:37
Trail the series against # 4 Immers/van de Velde, Netherlands 1-2
8/16/24	CEV	CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024	Bronze Medal	Immers/van de Velde	4	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	18-21, 21-17, 16-14	0:57
6/7/24	FIVB	Elite16 Ostrava	Pool A	Immers/van de Velde	9	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	21-18, 21-18	0:35
8/5/23	CEV	European Championships	Winner 3	Cottafava/Nicolai	15	Immers/van de Velde	10	21-17, 19-21, 15-10	0:55
Series tied with # 5 Boermans/de Groot, Netherlands 2-2
4/18/24	FIVB	Elite16 Tepic	Pool C	Boermans/de Groot	3	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	21-16, 21-11	0:32
11/26/23	FIVB	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	Semi-Finals	Cottafava/Nicolai	5	Boermans/de Groot	8	21-15, 21-15	0:32
3/25/23	FIVB	Elite16 Tepic	Winner 2	Boermans/de Groot	13, Q5	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	19-21, 21-16, 15-9	0:46
5/8/22	FIVB	Doha Challenge	Semi-Finals	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	Boermans/de Groot	3	16-21, 21-9, 15-11	0:42
Trail the series against # 6 Bryl/Losiak, Poland 3-5
7/11/24	FIVB	Elite16 Vienna	Pool A	Bryl/Losiak	9	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	By Forfeit
7/6/24	FIVB	Elite16 Gstaad	Winner 2	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	Bryl/Losiak	13, Q1	21-16, 18-21, 15-10	0:47
5/25/24	FIVB	BPT Elite16 Espinho	Winner 1	Bryl/Losiak	11	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	22-20, 21-15	0:40
3/6/24	FIVB	Elite16 Doha	Pool D	Cottafava/Nicolai	4	Bryl/Losiak	5	16-21, 21-19, 15-12	0:55
12/7/23	FIVB	BPT Finals Doha 2023	Pool A	Bryl/Losiak	10	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	12-21, 21-19, 15-13	0:48
8/11/22	FIVB	Hamburg Elite 16	Pool B	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Bryl/Losiak	15, Q3	24-22, 21-18	0:38
5/26/22	FIVB	Ostrava Elite 16	Pool D	Bryl/Losiak	5	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	21-13, 18-21, 23-21	0:56
5/8/22	FIVB	Doha Challenge	Gold Medal	Bryl/Losiak	2	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-18, 21-15	0:35
Lead the series against # 8 Pfretzschner/Winter, Germany 1-0
7/22/23	FIVB	Challenge Edmonton	Winner 1	Cottafava/Nicolai	13	Pfretzschner/Winter	23, Q23	21-13, 21-18	0:38
Lead the series against # 10 Gauthier-Rat/Rotar, France 1-0
8/15/24	CEV	CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024	Pool G	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Gauthier-Rat/Rotar	10	21-23, 21-10, 15-0	0:37
Trail the series against # 11 Brouwer/Meeuwsen, Netherlands 3-4
2/4/23	FIVB	Doha Elite16	Winner 1	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	3	Cottafava/Nicolai	9	21-17, 28-30, 15-12	0:56
1/29/23	FIVB	Beach Pro Tour Finals	Bronze Medal	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	3	22-20, 19-21, 16-14	0:57
1/26/23	FIVB	Beach Pro Tour Finals	Pool B	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	3	22-20, 24-22	0:40
10/1/22	FIVB	Paris Elite 16	Semi-Finals	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	5	Cottafava/Nicolai	3	27-25, 23-25, 15-9	1:01
8/13/22	FIVB	Hamburg Elite 16	Winner 1	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	9	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	23-21, 21-16	0:41
3/24/22	FIVB	Rosarito Elite 16	Pool B	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	7	Cottafava/Nicolai	15, Q7	16-21, 21-11, 16-14	0:50
3/18/22	FIVB	Tlaxcala Challenge	Pool B	Cottafava/Nicolai	14	Brouwer/Meeuwsen	2	21-19, 16-21, 15-9	0:46
Trail the series against # 14 Berntsen/Mol, Norway 0-2
7/23/23	FIVB	Challenge Edmonton	Semi-Finals	Berntsen/Mol	16	Cottafava/Nicolai	13	21-18, 21-18	0:39
7/6/22	FIVB	Gstaad Elite 16	Pool F	Berntsen/Mol	27	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	21-19, 21-13	0:32
Lead the series against # 15 Gavira/Herrera, Spain 3-2
8/16/24	CEV	CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024	Winner 3	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Gavira/Herrera	15	21-23, 21-17, 15-13	0:54
4/18/24	FIVB	Elite16 Tepic	Pool C	Gavira/Herrera	14, Q2	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	18-21, 21-19, 15-12	0:49
10/9/23	FIVB	Beach Volleyball World Championships	Pool H	Gavira/Herrera	17	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	21-15, 21-18	0:38
8/19/23	FIVB	Elite16 Hamburg	Winner 2	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	Gavira/Herrera	15, Q9	16-21, 21-13, 15-10	0:43
7/21/23	FIVB	Challenge Edmonton	Pool A	Cottafava/Nicolai	13	Gavira/Herrera	12	25-23, 19-21, 16-14	1:01
Series tied with # 16 Popov/Reznik, Ukraine 1-1
8/6/23	CEV	European Championships	Bronze Medal	Popov/Reznik	13	Cottafava/Nicolai	15	22-20, 21-13	0:37
7/22/23	FIVB	Challenge Edmonton	Winner 2	Cottafava/Nicolai	13	Popov/Reznik	7	25-23, 21-16	0:39
Lead the series against # 17 Luini/Varenhorst, Netherlands 1-0
6/6/24	FIVB	Elite16 Ostrava	Pool A	Cottafava/Nicolai	8	Luini/Varenhorst	16, Q15	21-17, 19-21, 15-11	0:49
Lead the series against # 18 Bello/Bello, England 1-0
8/16/24	CEV	CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024	Winner 2	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Bello/Bello	18	21-19, 21-18	0:40
Trail the series against # 20 Kantor/Zdybek, Poland 0-1
6/17/23	FIVB	Challenge Jurmala	Winner 1	Kantor/Zdybek	19, Q9	Cottafava/Nicolai	3	21-18, 21-17	0:34
Lead the series against # 21 Campos/Pedrosa, Portugal 2-0
7/14/23	FIVB	Challenge Portugal	Pool F	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Campos/Pedrosa	6	26-24, 21-16	0:40
6/16/23	FIVB	Challenge Jurmala	Pool C	Cottafava/Nicolai	3	Campos/Pedrosa	22	21-19, 29-27	0:41
Lead the series against # 23 Horl/Horst, Austria 4-0
8/15/24	CEV	CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024	Pool G	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Horl/Horst	23	21-11, 20-22, 15-12	0:48
11/25/23	FIVB	Elite16 Joao Pessoa	Winner 1	Cottafava/Nicolai	5	Horl/Horst	10	21-14, 21-14	0:33
9/28/23	FIVB	Elite16 Paris	Pool C	Cottafava/Nicolai	6	Horl/Horst	14, Q5	25-23, 21-19	0:40
5/31/23	FIVB	Elite16 Ostrava	Qualifier 1	Cottafava/Nicolai	Q2	Horl/Horst	Q15	21-16, 21-18	0:36
Lead the series against # 26 Boehle/Sengers, Netherlands 1-0
8/14/24	CEV	CEV EuroBeachVolley 2024	Pool G	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	Boehle/Sengers	26	21-14, 21-18	0:34
Lead the series against # 27 Haussener/Metral, Switzerland 1-0
8/16/23	FIVB	Elite16 Hamburg	Qualifier 2	Cottafava/Nicolai	13, Q3	Haussener/Metral	Q11	21-18, 21-10	0:32
Trail the series against # 28 Knasas/Stankevicius, Lithuania 0-1
7/15/23	FIVB	Challenge Portugal	Winner 1	Knasas/Stankevicius	21, Q8	Cottafava/Nicolai	7	21-12, 21-18	0:40