 He played in 241 Serie A games during 15 seasons, representing in the competition Cesena, Bari, Atalanta, Napoli, Inter Milan, Chievo and Palermo.Born in Cesena, Fontana started his career with his hometown club, A.C. Cesena, but made his professional debut with Vis Pesaro of Serie C2, where he was loaned during the 1986–87 season.Before the decade was over, he played on loan for Serie C1 club S.P.A.L.