Soccer-Portugal's Fonte enjoying first tournament at 32

June 29 (Reuters) - Five years ago Portugal's Jose Fonte was playing in the third tier of English football (League One) with Southampton. Now the defender, who helped Southampton to sixth place in the English Premier League last season, is living his dream of representing his country in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. But it has not been an easy career for the 32-year-old defender, who had to overcome the disappointment of several unsucessful loan spells in Portugal before rising through the lower leagues of England with Crystal Palace and Southampton. He credits his steady rise up the ranks to the managers with whom he has worked and to his own ability to adapt. He only made his Portugal debut at the age of 30 in October 2014. "I'm not the same player I was in League One," the Southampton skipper told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper. "When I was in League One I certainly didn't imagine that I would be playing the Euros." "I am proud of what I achieved because it was all through hard work, good managers and team mates pushing me." Age may no longer be on his side, but the defender is sure the end is not yet in sight. "I'm still 32. I feel good physically and hopefully my best years are to come," said Fonte, who is expected to start in his country's quarter-final with Poland on Thursday. Euro 2016 is Fonte's first major international tournament, but with former Sporting Lisbon team mate and friend Cristiano Ronaldo by his side, the defender has not ruled out the idea of his first appearance at a major finals ending in glory. "We believe in him (Ronaldo) and we just need to make sure, with him, we can achieve what we want. We want to win it and we believe we can do it," he said. (Reporting by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru. Editing by Adrian Warner.)