Sala started his playing career at San Giorgio, a club based in Casatenovo. He played as a centre back (stopper). In 1980, when he was 22, he was noticed and recruited by the club
Associazione Sportiva Sant'Angelo. He played two seasons with them and then began to get noticed by bigger clubs such as
Atalanta,
A.C. Monza and
Como. However, during one of his last matches with A.S. Sant'Angelo, he broke his
meniscus, forcing him to retire from football. == Climbing career ==