The international break is almost over now, and centre-back Jan Bednarek was the only Southampton player to play for his national team, with Sugawara being an unused substitute for Japan in both matches. A few months ago, Bednarek was the only current Saints star, who represented his national team Poland in the UEFA Euro 2024, alongside departed first-team players Che Adams and Stuart Armstrong. Similarly, the Saints have mostly had very few representatives in the history of the Euros, with the UEFA Euro 2016 being an exception.
In 2016, seven Southampton players featured in the prestigious European tournament, and Cedric Soares and Jose Fonte created history with Portugal and became the first two Saints stars to lift the coveted trophy. While Soares had a decent five year stay at Southampton, Fonte established himself as an integral part of the Southampton defence, that qualified for playing European football in two consecutive seasons. The 40-year-old centre-back also led the Saints as the club captain and played seven years at Southampton before joining West Ham in a £8 million transfer move in 2017.
Even after his departure, Southampton fans fondly remember his rock-solid partnership alongside Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk at the St. Mary’s Stadium during one of their most successful era in the previous fifteen years. Recently, Fonte featured in the Southampton legends match and opened up on his Southampton career, saying,
“I had to make a difficult decision because obviously, I had dreams of playing in the Premier League. I saw the players that we had, the quality in the squad, and it ended up being the best decision of my life.
When you look back and you see two promotions, Wembley, we went into European competitions. It’s just special.”
– Jose Fonte
Fonte left Premier League side Crystal Palace to join Southampton when they were in League One, and highlighted this transfer move as one of the best decisions he made. The Portugal international achieved promotion to the Premier League and also played in the UEFA Europa League, which signifies the enormous success Fonte achieved at Southampton.
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Defensive legends such as Jose Fonte, Virgil Van Dijk and Francis Benali are role-models for Southampton’s current defenders such as Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jan Bednarek and Nathan Wood, who would want to take inspiration from them to take more Premier League clean sheets this season. Currently, Southampton are preparing to face Leicester City in the Premier League and Russell Martin’s side will rely on their defence to build the foundation for an important league win against the Championship winners.
