José Fonte

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José Fonte

Fonte with Southampton in 2012
Personal information
Full nameJosé Miguel da Rocha Fonte
Date of birth (1983-12-22) 22 December 1983
Place of birthPenafiel, Portugal
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing positionCentre back
Club information
Current clubSouthampton
Number6
Youth career
1993–1994Penafiel
1994–2002Sporting CP
1997–2000→ Sacavenense (loan)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2002–2004Sporting B59(0)
2004–2005Felgueiras28(1)
2005Vitória Setúbal15(0)
2006–2008Benfica0(0)
2006→ Paços Ferreira (loan)11(1)
2006–2007→ Estrela Amadora (loan)25(1)
2007–2008→ Crystal Palace (loan)22(1)
2008–2010Crystal Palace60(5)
2010–Southampton148(12)
National team
2006Portugal U211(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:57, 29 January 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

José Miguel da Rocha Fonte (born 22 December 1983) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Southampton as a central defender.

He started his professional career in Portugal and moved to Crystal Palace in 2007. In 2010, he signed a three and a half year contract with Southampton and in 2011 was voted Southampton's Player of Year. Fonte's younger brother, Rui, is also a professional footballer.

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,[2] but only appeared with the reserve side as a senior, in the third division. In 2004, he signed with Sport Comércio e Salgueiros, but the club was in several financial difficulties and ended shortly after; as a result he terminated his contract and transferred to F.C. Felgueiras, in the second level.

In the 2005 off-season, Fonte made his top flight debut with Vitória de Setúbal, where his performances attracted the eye of national powerhouse Sport Lisboa e Benfica, who signed him in January 2006,[2] immediately loaning him out to fellow first-division 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 its division status.

Fonte spent the 2006–07 season on loan to C.F. Estrela da Amadora, still in the top division,[3] 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,[4] 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.[5]

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

Southampton

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.[6] He made his debut one week later alongside two other recent signings, Jon Otsemobor and Danny Seaborne, in a 1–1 draw at Millwall;[7] his first goal for the Saints came on 28 August 2010, in a 4–0 away win against Bristol Rovers.[8]

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%).[9]

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,[10] and he eventually contributed with 42 matches and one goal (against Coventry City in the final matchday[11]) 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.[12] 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.[13] On 24 August 2013, Fonte scored a header in the 89th minute of the game at home against Sunderland to rescue a point for Southampton. [14]

On 23 January 2014, Fonte was attacked by fellow player Dani Osvaldo during a session at the club's Staplewood training ground.[15] Subsequently, Osvaldo was loaned out to Italian club Juventus during the January 2014 transfer window.[16]

Honours

Team

Southampton

Individual

Club statistics

Club Season League Cup1 League Cup2 Europe Other3 Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Sporting B 2002–03 220 00 220
2003–04 370 00 370
Total 590 00 590
Felgueiras 2004–05 281 00 281
Total 281 00 281
Vitória Setúbal 2005–06 150 20 170
Total 150 20 170
Paços Ferreira 2005–06 111 00 111
Total 111 00 111
Estrela Amadora 2006–07 251 00 251
Total 251 00 251
Crystal Palace 2007–08 241 10 10 00 00 261
2008–09 384 20 10 00 00 414
2009–10 221 10 20 00 00 251
Total 84640400000926
Southampton 2009–10 210 00 00 00 30 240
2010–11 437 20 20 00 10 487
2011–12 421 10 10 00 00 441
2012–13 202 00 10 00 00 222
2013–14 191 10 10 00 00 211
Total 146104040004015710
Career total 359198080204037919

Statistics accurate as of match played 18 January 2014

1. Includes Taça de Portugal and FA Cup.
2. Includes Taça da Liga and League Cup.
3. Includes other competitive competitions, including Football League Trophy.

Personal

Fonte's younger brother, Rui, is also a footballer. A forward, the two shared teams at Sporting (youth) and Crystal Palace.[18]

References

  1. ↑ First team profiles: José Fonte, Southampton F.C. News website, 10 June 2013
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "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. 
  3. ↑ "Jose Fonte". Holmesdale. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 
  4. ↑ "Palace bring in Benfica defender". BBC Sport. 31 July 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Palace bag Benfica defender Fonte". BBC Sport. 23 July 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 
  6. ↑ "Saints Sign José Fonte". Southampton FC. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  7. ↑ "Millwall 1–1 Southampton". Southampton FC. 16 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010. 
  8. ↑ "Bristol Rovers 0–4 Southampton". BBC Sport. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 
  9. ↑ "Jose Fonte on the up in England". PortuGOAL. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 
  10. ↑ "Jose Fonte signs new Southampton contract". BBC Sport. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2011. 
  11. ↑ "Southampton 4 – Coventry 0". BBC Sport. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Nasri the hero for champions". ESPN FC. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012. 
  13. ↑ "Fonte to the fore in frantic finale". ESPN FC. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Mixed emotions for goalscorer Fonte", Southampton F.C. News website, 24 August 2013
  15. ↑ "Southampton suspend striker for fighting", BBC News, 23 January 2014
  16. ↑ "Dani Osvaldo: Southampton striker completes Juventus loan", BBC News, 31 January 2014
  17. ↑ "PFA Divisional Awards: Npower League One". Professional Footballers Association. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2011. 
  18. ↑ "Palace sign Arsenal striker Fonte". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2011. 

External links

Southampton F.C. – current squad
2010–11 Football League One PFA Team of the Year
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