Portuguese defender Jose Fonte

Jose Fonte is a Portuguese football player who acts as a central defender. Most of his career he spent in his native Portugal. However, now Jose Fonte performs in England and, despite the fact that he is almost 33 years old, in the near future does not plan to retire.

Carier start

Jose Fonte was born on December 22, 1983 in Portugal, where in eight years he was in the football academy of the club "Penafiel". But there he stayed relatively short - only three years, after which he went through a viewing in Lisbon "Sporting" and was adopted. For the next seven years he was in the system of one of the strongest clubs in the country, and then signed a professional contract with him when he turned eighteen.

But Sporting turned out to be too big a club for the defender, and he was in the second team until 2004, where he played 59 matches. Naturally, such a situation the player did not like, and Jose Fonte moved to a small club "Felgueiras", where he was guaranteed playing practice.

Going to the "Felgueiras" and the way to "Benfica"

For the year that Jose Fonte, the footballer for the time being not particularly impressed by the public, spent in the new club, he appeared on the field 29 times and drew the attention of Portuguese scouts. As a result, in the summer of 2005 he was in the Higher League - in the composition of the Setubal "Vitoria". There he played 17 games in six months - and immediately signed a contract with Benfica, which at that time was one of the leaders of the Portuguese championship.

Lease period

However, unfortunately, Fonte did not hold a single match for "Benfica". At first he was sent for half a year to rent in "Pasush de Ferreira", where he played 11 matches, and after that and in "Estrela", where he entered the field for a year in 27 matches. As a result, in 2007 Fonte was sent to the last lease for a year - but this time outside the country. "Crystal Palace" took over the Portuguese, who played 26 matches and scored one goal. The player's contract with Benfica came to an end, and he moved to the English club as a free agent.

Playing in England

In the new club, Jose spent two more seasons, going on the field in 66 games and scoring five more goals - but in the winter of 2010 he was bought by Southampton, who paid 1.5 million euros for the defender. So Fonte found a club in which he could stay for a long time. During six and a half seasons, he played 269 matches for Southampton and scored 15 goals, in 2012 taking part in the rise of the club from the Second League to the First, where Southampton firmly established. In the current season, Jose played in 7 games and still remains one of the leaders of the club's defense, as well as the captain of the team.

National team appearances

In the national team of Portugal, José made his debut relatively recently - in November 2014, when he was already 30 years old. Since then, he is called to the national team constantly and has played 19 matches in which he gave one assists. He also went to the European Championship in 2016, where he did not participate in the group stage, but in the playoffs he played all four matches from whistle to whistle, having won this tournament.

Personal life

What about Jose Fonte's family? The personal life of the player is hidden behind a veil of secrecy, since he does not like to spread about it in public. The most interesting is the fact that Jose has a younger brother Rui, who is also a footballer. They together played for the double of Sporting, and then met again at Crystal Palace.