José Fonte

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Rocha and the second or paternal family name is Fonte.
José Fonte

Fonte before a friendly with Southampton in 2015
Personal information
Full name José Miguel da Rocha Fonte[1]
Date of birth (1983-12-22) 22 December 1983
Place of birth Penafiel, Portugal
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Southampton
Number 6
Youth career
1991–1994 Penafiel
1994–2002 Sporting CP
1997–2000 → Sacavenense (loan)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2004 Sporting B 59 (0)
2004–2005 Felgueiras 28 (1)
2005 Vitória Setúbal 15 (0)
2006–2008 Benfica 0 (0)
2006 → Paços Ferreira (loan) 11 (1)
2006–2007 → Estrela Amadora (loan) 25 (1)
2007–2008 → Crystal Palace (loan) 22 (1)
2008–2010 Crystal Palace 60 (5)
2010– Southampton 254 (15)
National team‡
2006 Portugal U21 1 (0)
2006 Portugal B 1 (0)
2014– Portugal 20 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 November 2016

José Miguel da Rocha Fonte ComM (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ ˈfõⁿtɨ]; born 22 December 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a central defender for English club Southampton and the Portugal national team.

He started his professional career with Sporting B, moving to England with Crystal Palace in 2007. In 2010 he signed with Southampton, where he has made over 250 appearances across all competitions.

A Portuguese international since age 30, Fonte was part of the squad at Euro 2016, winning the tournament.

Club career

Portugal

Born in Penafiel, Fonte finished his football education (after already having played there from ages 10–13) at Sporting Clube de Portugal,[3] but only appeared with the reserves as a senior, in the third division. In 2004 he signed with S.C. Salgueiros, but the club was in severe financial difficulties and was liquidated shortly thereafter; as a result he terminated his contract and transferred to F.C. Felgueiras, in the Segunda Liga.

In the 2005 off-season, Fonte made his Primeira Liga debut with Vitória de Setúbal, where his performances attracted the eye of S.L. Benfica, who signed him in January 2006,[3] immediately loaning him out to fellow league side F.C. Paços de Ferreira; he finished the season with 26 league appearances and one goal, as both Paços and Setúbal managed to maintain their division status.

Fonte spent the 2006–07 season on loan to C.F. Estrela da Amadora, still in the top division,[4] only missing five league games as the Lisbon-based club finished in ninth position.

Crystal Palace

In 2007, Fonte moved on loan to Crystal Palace in England,[5] being introduced in the side's starting XI after a run of injuries. The move was made permanent at the end of the season, as Palace finished fifth and qualified to the promotion play-offs.[6]

Fonte continued to feature regularly with the London-based club in the following Football League Championship seasons, even appearing as a makeshift striker when required.

Southampton

Fonte with Southampton in 2012

Fonte signed for Southampton on 9 January 2010 for a fee believed to be around the region of £1.2 million, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract.[7] He made his debut one week later alongside two other recent signings, Jon Otsemobor and Danny Seaborne, in a 1–1 draw at Millwall;[8] his first goal for the Saints came on 28 August 2010, in a 4–0 away win against Bristol Rovers.[9]

After scoring seven league goals and helping Southampton gain promotion to the second level, Fonte was named in the League One Team of the Year for the 2010–11 season. He was also voted Southampton's Player of Year, achieving 64% of the overall vote, with Adam Lallana coming second with 18% and Dan Harding finishing third (7%).[10]

On 29 December 2011, Fonte signed a new contract keeping him at the club until 2015. Southampton were top of the table when he signed, with the player having appeared in every league game,[11] and he eventually contributed with 42 matches and one goal (against Coventry City in the final matchday[12]) as the side achieved a second consecutive promotion.

Fonte made his debut in the Premier League on 19 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–3 away loss against Manchester City.[13] He netted his first Premier League goal(s) in a 2–2 home draw against Fulham on 7 October, the second arriving in the last minute;[14] on 24 August 2013, he scored a header in the 89th minute of the home game against Sunderland, rescuing a point for his team.[15]

On 23 January 2014, Fonte was attacked by teammate Dani Osvaldo during a training session.[16] Subsequently, the latter was loaned out to Juventus F.C. during the winter transfer window.[17]

On 8 August 2014, Fonte penned a new three-year deal with Southampton running until 2017, and was also named team captain.[18]

Fonte made his 250th league appearance for the club on 16 October 2016, in the Premier League against Burnley.[19]

International career

Fonte playing for Portugal at Euro 2016

Fonte was called up to the Portuguese under-21 squad for the Vale do Tejo tournament in 2006. On 24 January he played against Slovenia, as the match ended with a penalty shootout loss after a 1–1 draw.[20]

On 3 October 2014, at nearly 31, Fonte received his first call-up to the full side, for a friendly with France and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Denmark.[21] He made his debut in another exhibition game, playing the second half of a 1–0 win over Argentina at Old Trafford on 18 November.[22]

Fonte was selected by manager Fernando Santos for his Euro 2016 squad.[23] His first game in the tournament took place on 25 June, as he started alongside Southampton teammate Cédric Soares in the round-of-16 clash against Croatia (1–0 triumph after extra time);[24] he went on to retain his position until the final, won at the expense of hosts France.[25]

Personal life

Fonte's younger brother, Rui, is also a footballer. A forward, the two were teammates at Sporting (youth) and Crystal Palace.[26]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 November 2016[27]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sporting B 2002–03[28] Portuguese Second Division 220————220
2003–04[28] 370————370
Total 590————590
Felgueiras 2004–05[28] Segunda Liga 28110———291
Vitória Setúbal 2005–06[28] Primeira Liga 15000—2[lower-alpha 1]0—170
Paços Ferreira (loan) 2005–06[28] 11100———111
Estrela Amadora (loan) 2006–07[28] 25120———271
Crystal Palace (loan) 2007–08[29] Championship 2211010—2[lower-alpha 2]0261
Crystal Palace 2008–09[30] 3842010——414
2009–10[31] 2211020—00251
Total (incl. loan spell) 8264040—20926
Southampton 2009–10[31] League One 2100000—3[lower-alpha 3]0240
2010–11[32] 4372020—1[lower-alpha 3]0487
2011–12[33] Championship 4211010——441
2012–13[34] Premier League 2721000——282
2013–14[35] 3631010——383
2014–15[36] 3703040——440
2015–16[37] 372101040—432
2016–17[38] 110002000—130
Total 2541590110404028215
Career total 47224160150606051524
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in Football League Play-Offs
  3. 1 2 Appearances in Football League Trophy

Honours

Club

Southampton

Country

Portugal

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League clubs submit squad lists" (PDF). Premier League. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "José Fonte". Southampton F.C. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 "José Fonte: "O Carlos Martins teria fácil adaptação ao futebol inglês"" [José Fonte: "Carlos Martins would adapt easily to English football"] (in Portuguese). Rádio Renascença. 23 December 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  4. ↑ "Jose Fonte". Holmesdale. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  5. ↑ "Palace bring in Benfica defender". BBC Sport. 31 July 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  6. ↑ "Palace bag Benfica defender Fonte". BBC Sport. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  7. ↑ "Saints Sign José Fonte". Southampton F.C. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  8. ↑ "Millwall 1–1 Southampton". Southampton F.C. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  9. ↑ "Bristol Rovers 0–4 Southampton". BBC Sport. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  10. ↑ "Jose Fonte on the up in England". PortuGOAL. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Jose Fonte signs new Southampton contract". BBC Sport. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  12. ↑ "Southampton 4 – Coventry 0". BBC Sport. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Nasri the hero for champions". ESPN FC. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  14. ↑ "Fonte to the fore in frantic finale". ESPN FC. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Mixed emotions for goalscorer Fonte". Southampton F.C. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  16. ↑ "Dani Osvaldo: Southampton suspend striker for fighting". BBC Sport. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  17. ↑ "Dani Osvaldo: Southampton striker completes Juventus loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  18. ↑ "We're delighted to announce that José Fonte has signed a new three-year deal, keeping him at #SaintsFC until 2017.". Twitter. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  19. ↑ "Skipper José Fonte makes his 250th league appearance for #SaintsFC this afternoon!". Twitter. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  20. ↑ "Torneio "Vale do Tejo" (Portugal)". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  21. ↑ "Saints skipper Fonte earns first Portugal call". Southampton F.C. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  22. ↑ Bernstein, Joe (18 November 2014). "Argentina 0–1 Portugal: Raphael Guerreiro scores injury-time winner as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are withdrawn at half-time in heavyweight showdown at Old Trafford". Daily Mail. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  23. ↑ "Portugal name Bayern Munich signing Renato Sanches for Euros squad". ESPN FC. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  24. ↑ "Quaresma snatches extra-time win for Portugal". UEFA.com. 25 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  25. 1 2 McNulty, Phil (10 July 2016). "Portugal 1–0 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  26. ↑ "Palace sign Arsenal striker Fonte". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  27. ↑ "José Fonte". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "José Fonte". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  29. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  30. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  31. 1 2 "Games played by José Fonte in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  32. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  33. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  34. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  35. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  36. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  37. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  38. ↑ "Games played by José Fonte in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  39. ↑ "PFA Divisional Awards: Npower League One". Professional Footballers Association. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
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