It has been a year of the footballing fairy tale, but one of the greatest of all is slipping under the radar ahead of tomorrow’s Euro 2016 final.

While we have heard so much above Jamie Vardy and his rise to Premier League title winner with Leicester and into the England squad, and Ashley Williams at heart of the Wales defence, Jose Fonte stands on the threshold of something equally as spectacular.

On Sunday evening the 32-year-old Saints defender could find himself holding aloft the European Championship trophy, a winner of one of football’s greatest honours.

When the tournament was last played four years ago he hadn’t played a single game in the Premier League, let alone won a cap.

Indeed, it is only just over a year and a half ago, at 31, he even made his first appearance for his country.

Fonte has gone from cheering his nation on at home on the sofa with his family and friends to being a rock at the heart of Portugal’s defence in no time at all – and all at what is the back end of his career.

The centre half spent the first portion of his career at also-ran clubs in Portugal, including a couple of loan spells, before Crystal Palace came calling in 2007.

Initially, his was a loan move, but he impressed enough to get a permanent transfer in 2008.

After two strong seasons at Palace, Fonte stood at a crossroads in January 2010.

Saints manager Alan Pardew saw him as a key part of his plans at St Mary’s, and convinced the club to lodge a £1.2m offer for his services, which was duly accepted by Palace.

The problem remained convincing Fonte to join.

Whereas Palace were a stable bet in the Championship, Saints were at that time in League One.

They had a billionaire owner, they could provide Fonte with the kind of contract he wanted, but there was no hiding the fact it was stepping down a division.

And, thanks to the ten point deduction at the start of that season, in reality it was likely to mean a minimum of 18 months in League One with Saints before Fonte could return even to just the same level he was at with Palace.

As it turned out, Fonte didn’t actually need too much convincing.

“I've made a decision and I'm very happy with it. I've come here with a purpose which is to help this club move to the top divisions,” he said at the time of his move.

"I'm very happy with this contract, and with how Southampton have treated me, so it's a happy day for me and I just want to help the club.

"I want to play in the Premier League and I think I can do that quickest by moving here."

It turned out his instincts were correct as Saints made it back to the Premier League before Palace won promotion from the Championship to the top flight.

Fonte was a key figure as Saints rose through the divisions, winning back-to-back promotions and the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy at Wembley in the process.

By 2012, Fonte had his wish, and was finally a Premier League footballer.

It had come to him the hard way, having had to wait until he was 28 to really reach the point he had been striving for for so long.

But it is testament to Fonte and his desire, attitude and willingness to continually push for personal improvement that that was not the end of the journey.

While many players may have been content to enjoy the Premier League, their new found star status and the big money contracts for a time, it wasn’t enough for Fonte.

He scaled one impressive peak, and now had his eyes on another.

That was finally achieving his ultimate goal of representing his country.

If getting from the lower leagues of Portugal to the top division of English football felt like a drawn out process, then it was nothing in comparison to his rise to tomorrow’s final in France.

For so long it seemed it would not happen.

Fonte knew that ultimately personal success at Saints was the only driver for a potential international call-up, and so he threw the kitchen sink at his day-to-day activities.

The centre half is notorious for only being a fierce competitor on a match day, but also in training.

His teammates often speak privately about the fact he doesn’t let up for a second, and the players he marks in training games can come off the pitch as battled scarred by the experience as those he plays against in a competitive game.

Not even the famous altercation at the hands, or rather head, of Dani Osvaldo kept him down.

Fonte fought and battled and proved a real leader for Saints.

It is fair to say that, like the whole team, he took a little while to adapt to the Premier League, but once he found his feet there was no stopping him.

The Saints story in the top flight is one well covered, and has seen finishes of eighth, seven and sixth over the last few years, with Fonte missing just a handful of matches over the four seasons, adapting brilliantly to playing in a number of different centre half pairings.

He has also picked up two Daily Echo Player of the Season awards from the supporters, one of only seven men to have lifted the famous old trophy twice.

But even despite all that personal success it seemed like he may never make the Portugal team, even though he never gave up hope.

Eventually, in October 2014, at the age of 31, the call came.

It was delight for Fonte, even though he didn’t actually get the chance to win his first cap until November.

Since that time he has to put up with being somewhat of a bit part player in winning his 15 caps, and even after getting the nod for Euro 2016 he didn’t start any of the group games.

Fonte finally got the chance to start in the last 16, and has played in all the knockout games since then as Portugal made it to the final.

Now he looks all but certain to line-up in the biggest game of his life tomorrow.

In amongst all the great stories of the last few months, this is right up there, for sheer determination and perseverance. For Fonte to life the trophy in Paris tomorrow evening would be his crowning glory.