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José Fonte was born José Miguel da Rocha Fonte on December 22, 1983 in Penafiel, Portugal. He is a professional football player who has spent the majority of his career in the England as a central defender. José began his career in his native Portugal, signing his first professional contract with Sporting Clube de Portugal in Lisbon as a teenager. He never appeared for the senior side, but made 59 appearances for the B team in the Third Division before a season in the Second Division with F.C. Felgueiras. He made his debut in top-flight football at the age of 22 having transferred to Vitória de Setúbal in Summer 2005. His time at Vitória de Setúbal was short-lived, however, and he moved to Benfica in January 2006. Once again José never made an appearance for the senior side, instead going out on a series of loans, first to Paços Ferreira, then Estrela Amadora before a final loan move to Crystal Palace in 2007 that saw José move to England. At the end of the 2007-08 season, Crystal Palace made his loan permanent and over the next 18 months José made 60 league appearances for Palace in the Championship, the second tier of English Football. On the 9th of January 2010, José completed a £1.2m transfer to Southampton, then in League One - one division below Palace. At Southampton José went from strength-to-strength, becoming a key part of a resurgent Southampton side that secured back-to-back promotions in his first two full seasons at the club and won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in 2010. In 2010-11, his first full season at the club, José scored 7 goals and was named the clubs Player of the Year with 64% of the vote, he was also named in that years PFA Team of the Year for League One. Following the club's return to the Premier League, José held onto his place into central defence, improving as a player as the club itself continued to improve. In 2014 he was made the team captain and that season won his second Player of the Year award. He has grown into a club legend at Southampton as the one constant force through the club's renaissance. He was rewarded for his club performances with a first call-up to the Portuguese National Team on the 3rd October 2014, despite being nearly 31 years old. He made his international debut 2 months later in a friendly against Argentina, making 12 appearances for the national side as they qualified for the 2016 UEFA European Championships. Despite being an unused substitute in the group stages, José played every minute of the knockout stages of the tournament as Portugal won their first ever major honours. To date (2016), José Fonte is the only player in history to have won both the Football League Trophy and the European Championships.
