During his playing career, at a height of 1.92 m (6'3 3⁄4"), he was nicknamed nicknamed "Von Karajan", due to being a point guard with a great ability to direct the offensive rhythm and game tempo for his teams.

While with Varese, Ossola also won five European-wide top-tier level FIBA European Champions Cup (EuroLeague) championships, in the years 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976.

With Varese, he played in a total of ten consecutive EuroLeague Finals, in the years 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, a record that is in all likelihood, almost impossible to be broken.

With Italy's senior national team, he won a silver medal at the 1967 Mediterranean Games.

While another older half-brother of his, Franco Ossola, was one of the leading scorers of all-time with the Italian club Torino FC.