The 30-year-old centre back Jose Fonte has received his first ever invite to join the Portugal national football team. Saints must truly be proud of how many players have earned national team call-ups while wearing the club's jersey.
Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, Rickie Lambert – these are just the Englishmen who took part in international action due to great performances at St. Mary's Stadium.
Fonte will obviously soon be joining this list, if he gets included in at least one of two upcoming clashes – friendly versus France or a qualifier in Denmark. The only international match in which he got a chance was for the u21 squad against Slovenia in 2006.
Southampton's skipper must thank only one man for this opportunity. His name is Fernando Santos and he has been a coach of the team for over a week now, being appointed on September 23. If Paulo Bento had stayed in charge, Fonte would might never get his chance.
Saints are doing great in the league, despite all expectations. Is it because of the right transfer moves, with which most of the fans wouldn't have agreed, or have the new coach and captain made positive changes in the team? Hopefully, the Portuguese will show the same leadership in the national team that he has been showing in the Premiership.
Source: DSG
