José Fonte

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

Fonte with Southampton in 2012
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) 24 (1)
2008–2010 Crystal Palace 60 (5)
2010– Southampton 233 (15)
National team‡
2006 Portugal U21 1 (0)
2006 Portugal B 1 (0)
2014– Portugal 9 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:56, 27 February 2016 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 March 2016

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

He started his professional career in Portugal, moving to Crystal Palace in 2007. In 2010, he signed with Southampton, where he went on to make over 250 appearances across all competitions.

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 playoffs.[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 ahead of a friendly with Southampton in July 2015

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]

International career

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.[19]

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.[20] 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.[21]

Personal life

Fonte's younger brother, Rui, is also a footballer. A forward, the two were teammates at Sporting (youth) and Crystal Palace.[22]

Statistics

Club

As of match played 9 April 2016[23]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sporting B 2002–03[24] Portuguese Second Division 220————220
2003–04[24] Portuguese Second Division 370————370
Total 590————590
Felgueiras 2004–05[24] Segunda Liga 28110———291
Vitória Setúbal 2005–06[24] Primeira Liga 15000—2[lower-alpha 1]0—170
Paços Ferreira (loan) 2005–06[24] Primeira Liga 11100———111
Estrela Amadora (loan) 2006–07[24] Primeira Liga 25120———271
Crystal Palace (loan) 2007–08[25] Championship 2211010—2[lower-alpha 2]0261
Crystal Palace 2008–09[26] Championship 3842010——414
2009–10[27] Championship 2211020—00251
Total 8264040—20926
Southampton 2009–10[27] League One 2100000—3[lower-alpha 3]0240
2010–11[28] League One 4372020—1[lower-alpha 3]0487
2011–12[29] Championship 4211010——441
2012–13[30] Premier League 2721000——282
2013–14[31] Premier League 3631010——383
2014–15[32] Premier League 3703040——440
2015–16[33] Premier League 322101040—382
Total 238159090404026415
Career total 45824160130606049924
  1. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in Football League Play-Offs
  3. 1 2 Appearances in Football League Trophy

Honours

Club

Southampton

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. ↑ "Torneio "Vale do Tejo" (Portugal)". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  20. ↑ "Saints skipper Fonte earns first Portugal call". Southampton F.C. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  21. ↑ 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.
  22. ↑ "Palace sign Arsenal striker Fonte". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  23. ↑ "José Fonte". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "José Fonte". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  25. ↑ "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2007/08". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  26. ↑ "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2008/09". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  27. 1 2 "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2009/10". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  28. ↑ "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2010/11". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  29. ↑ "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2011/12". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  30. ↑ "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2012/13". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  31. ↑ "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2013/14". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  32. ↑ "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2014/15". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  33. ↑ "Matches played by Jose Fonte in 2015/16". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  34. ↑ "PFA Divisional Awards: Npower League One". Professional Footballers Association. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to José Fonte.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, April 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.