José Miguel da Rocha Fonte (born 22 December 1983) is a Portuguese professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
centre-back for
Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
club
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
and the
Portugal national team.
Fonte started his professional career with
Sporting CP B
Sporting Clube de Portugal B is the reserve team of Portuguese football club Sporting CP, a team based in Lisbon. Reserve teams in Portugal play in the same league system as the senior team, rather than in a reserve team league. However, they cann ...
, moving to England with
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
in 2007. He signed for
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
in 2010, where he made 288 appearances in all competitions, until he joined
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
in January 2017. He then represented
Dalian Yifang in China and Lille in France, winning the Ligue 1 title with the latter in the
2020–21 season.
A Portuguese international since age 30, Fonte was part of the squad at two
UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
and the
2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
, winning
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
.
Club career
Portugal
Born in
Penafiel
Penafiel ( or () is a municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the northern Portuguese district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion, the population was 72,265 in 2011, in an area of .
History
The region ...
, Fonte finished his football education (after already having played there from ages 10 to 13) at
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...
.
He only appeared with
Sporting CP B
Sporting Clube de Portugal B is the reserve team of Portuguese football club Sporting CP, a team based in Lisbon. Reserve teams in Portugal play in the same league system as the senior team, rather than in a reserve team league. However, they cann ...
as a senior, in the
third division. He signed with
Salgueiros in 2004, but the club was in severe financial difficulties and was liquidated shortly thereafter; as a result, he terminated his contract and transferred to
Felgueiras
Felgueiras () is a municipality in Porto District, Portugal. The current mayor is Nuno Fonseca. There are two cities located in the municipality: Felgueiras (city status received on 13 July 1990) and Lixa. The population in 2011 was 58,065, in a ...
in the
Segunda Liga.
In the 2005 off-season, Fonte made his
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...
debut with
Vitória de Setúbal
Vitoria or Vitória may refer to :
People
* Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian
* Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer
* Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer
* Steven Vitória ...
, where his performances attracted the eye of
Benfica, who signed him in January 2006.
[ He was immediately loaned out to fellow league team ]Paços de Ferreira
Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km².
Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...
. He finished the season with 26 league appearances and 1 goal, during a 2–2 away draw against Penafiel
Penafiel ( or () is a municipality and former bishopric (now a Latin Catholic titular see) in the northern Portuguese district of Porto. Capital of the Tâmega Subregion, the population was 72,265 in 2011, in an area of .
History
The region ...
in which he also scored two in his own net– as both Paços and Setúbal managed to retain their status.
Fonte spent the 2006–07 season on loan to Estrela da Amadora
Club Football Estrela da Amadora (), sometimes just Estrela, is a Portuguese sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon.
It's the successor of Clube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora, founded in 1932 and extinct in ...
, still in the top division,[ only missing five league games as the ]Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
-based club finished in ninth position.
Crystal Palace
In July 2007, Fonte moved on loan to Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
in England, being introduced in the team's starting line-up after a run of injuries. The move was made permanent at the end of the 2007–08 season, as Palace finished fifth and qualified to the promotion play-offs.
Fonte continued to feature regularly with the Londoners in the Football League Championship, even appearing as a makeshift striker when required.
Southampton
Fonte signed for Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
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. He made his debut one week later alongside two other recent signings, Jon Otsemobor
Jon Otsemobor (born 23 March 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right back.
Born in Liverpool, he began his career with hometown club Liverpool. He also played for Hull City, Bolton Wanderers, Crewe Alexandra, ...
and Danny Seaborne
Daniel Anthony Seaborne (born 5 March 1987) is a retired English professional footballer who played as a defender.
Seaborne began his professional career at Exeter City, having risen through the club's youth system; he signed his professional c ...
, in a 1–1 draw away to Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
. His first goal for Southampton came on 28 August, in a 4–0 away win over Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...
.
After scoring seven league goals and helping Southampton win promotion to the second tier, Fonte was named in the League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
Team of the Year for the 2010–11 season. He was also voted Southampton's Player of Year, achieving 64% of the vote, with Adam Lallana
Adam David Lallana ( ; born 10 May 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Brighton & Hove Albion.
Lallana began his youth career with AFC Bournemouth before transferring to Southampton in 200 ...
coming second with 18% and Dan Harding
Daniel Andrew Harding (born 23 December 1983) is an English footballer who last played as a defender for National League South club Whitehawk.
Harding began his career with Brighton & Hove Albion and has also played for Leeds United, Ipswich ...
finishing third with 7%.
On 29 December 2011, Fonte signed a new contract keeping him at the club until June 2015. Southampton were top of the table when he signed, with the player having appeared in every league game at that point in the season. He eventually contributed 42 matches and 1 goal, which came against Coventry City
Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
in the final match of the season as the team earned a second consecutive promotion.
Fonte made his debut in the Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
on 19 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 away loss to Manchester City. He netted his first goals in the competition in a 2–2 home draw with Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
on 7 October, the second arriving in the last minute
''The Last Minute'' is a 2001 British-American urban gothic film, written and directed by Stephen Norrington.
It shows a struggling man hitting bottom and finding light in unexpected places, and trying a huge alternative as the solution to hi ...
. On 24 August 2013, he scored a header in the 89th minute of the home game against Sunderland, rescuing a point for his team.
On 23 January 2014, Fonte was attacked by teammate Dani Osvaldo
Pablo Daniel "Dani" Osvaldo (; born 12 January 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born and raised in Argentina, Osvaldo represented the Italy national team internationally.
Osvaldo began his career at Huracán ...
during a training session. Subsequently, the latter was loaned out to Juventus during the winter transfer window
A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...
.
On 8 August 2014, Fonte penned a new three-year deal with Southampton running until June 2017, and was also named team captain
In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
. He made his 250th league appearance for the club on 16 October 2016, in a 3–1 home win against Burnley
Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...
.
West Ham United
On 20 January 2017, Fonte signed for Premier League club West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
for a reported fee of £8 million (plus potential add-ons) on a two-and-a-half-year contract. He made his league debut on 1 February, in a 4–0 home defeat by Manchester City in which he conceded a penalty
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
A p ...
by bringing down Raheem Sterling
Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team.
Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, S ...
.
On 4 November 2017, after a league match against one of his former teams, Crystal Palace, it was confirmed Fonte had suffered a foot injury that would sideline him for the rest of the year.
Dalian Yifang
Fonte completed a transfer to Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...
club Dalian Yifang on 23 February 2018, joining for a reported fee of £5 million. On 15 July, he terminated his contract.
Lille
Fonte signed for French Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
club Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
on 20 July 2018, signing a two-year contract. The 37-year-old captained the team to the 2020–21 Ligue 1 title, their first since 2010–11, making 36 appearances and scoring 3 goals in the process.
International career
Fonte was called up to the Portuguese B squad for the Vale do Tejo tournament in 2006. On 24 January, he played against Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
as the match ended with a penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
loss after a 1–1 draw.
On 3 October 2014, aged nearly 31, Fonte received his first call-up to the senior team, for a friendly with France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. He made his debut in another friendly, playing the second half of a 1–0 win over Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
at Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
on 18 November.
Fonte was selected by manager Fernando Santos for his Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
squad. His first game in the tournament took place on 25 June, as he started alongside Southampton teammate Cédric Soares
Cédric Ricardo Alves Soares (born 31 August 1991), known simply as Cédric (), is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right back for club Fulham, on loan from Arsenal, and the Portugal national team.
Cédric's career starte ...
in the round-of-16 tie against Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, which Portugal won 1–0 after extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
. He went on to retain his position until the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, in which Portugal beat the hosts France 1–0.
Fonte was named in the final 23-man squads for both the 2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
in Russia and Portugal's victorious campaign in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals
The 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2018–19 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the inaugural season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 55 member associations of ...
, as well as the delayed UEFA Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
, where he didn't manage to leave the bench.
On 9 October 2021, aged 37, Fonte scored his first goal for the national team, in a 3-0 home win over Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
.
On 24 March 2022, aged 38, Fonte earned his 50th cap in Portugal's World Cup qualifying Play-off match, against Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, where he gave away a second-half penalty for a kick at Enes Ünal
Enes Ünal (born 10 May 1997) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Getafe and the Turkey national team.
Ünal scored on his Süper Lig debut on 25 August 2013 for Bursaspor against Galatasaray, making h ...
inside the penalty area. However, Burak Yılmaz
Burak Yılmaz (born 15 July 1985) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard.
Yılmaz is one of nine players to play for each of the Big Three clubs of Turkey, and one of only two player ...
, his teammate at Lille, missed the shot and the game ended 3–1 for Portugal, who then qualified for the final playoff game.
In October, he was named in Portugal's preliminary 55-man squad
In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...
for the 2022 FIFA World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...
in Qatar. However, he did not make the final cut.
Personal life
Fonte's younger brother, Rui, is also a footballer. A forward, the two were teammates at Sporting (at youth level), Crystal Palace and Lille. Their father, Artur
Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur, meaning "bear-like," which is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''artos'' ("bear"). O ...
, played 12 seasons in the Portuguese top division.
Career statistics
Club
International
''Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fonte goal''.[
]
Honours
Southampton
*Football League Trophy
The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
: 2009–10
Lille
*Ligue 1
Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
: 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
[
*]Trophée des Champions
The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the super cups found in many other countries.
His ...
: 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
Portugal
*UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
: 2016[
*]UEFA Nations League
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...
: 2018–19
*FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
third place: 2017
Individual
*PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
: 2010–11 League One[
* Southampton Player of the Season: 2010–11, 2014–15
Orders
* Commander of the Order of Merit]
References
External links
Profile
at the Lille OSC website
Profile
at the Portuguese Football Federation website
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonte, Jose
1983 births
Living people
People from Penafiel
Portuguese footballers
Association football defenders
Primeira Liga players
Liga Portugal 2 players
Segunda Divisão players
Sporting CP B players
F.C. Felgueiras players
Vitória F.C. players
S.L. Benfica footballers
F.C. Paços de Ferreira players
C.F. Estrela da Amadora players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
Chinese Super League players
Dalian Professional F.C. players
Ligue 1 players
Lille OSC players
Portugal under-21 international footballers
Portugal B international footballers
Portugal international footballers
UEFA Euro 2016 players
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players
2018 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2020 players
UEFA European Championship-winning players
UEFA Nations League-winning players
Portuguese expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in China
Expatriate footballers in France
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in China
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France
Commanders of the Order of Merit (Portugal)
Sportspeople from Porto District