Southampton FC sourced a St Mary's cult hero after Italian transfer deal: View | OneFootball

It is so often the case that when a football club is facing its toughest time that heroes are made.

Whether it is the player who saves you from relegation on the final day of the season, or the player that makes you start to believe again after so many years of hurt, they are the ones that live longest in the memory over the years.

Most clubs will have their own story to tell of the player that stole their hearts with some stellar performances right when they were needed the most, and Southampton will always have Guly do Prado.

The Brazilian personifies everything about the Saints during their unwanted stint in League One, and the upward trajectory that soon followed after his arrival, with his all-action displays winning over the St Mary’s faithful a decade ago.

Guly do Prado made an immediate impact after Southampton FC move

Saints were at their lowest ebb at the turn of the previous decade, with relegation from the Championship in 2009 seeing them play at the third tier for the first time in half a century.

After failing to recover from a 10-point deduction in their first season at the level, the south coast side looked further afield for reinforcements to get them back to the Championship, and found themselves a gem in the Italian second tier.

Do Prado had been a seasoned performer for a number of Italian sides before his move to England, with spells at five separate clubs across the top two tiers ending with promotion to Serie A with Cesena in the 09/10 campaign, before packing his bags for the UK.

With footage of lower league continental football a scarce commodity in Hampshire; the striker entered the premises as something of an unknown quantity, but it didn’t take long for his new fanbase - as well as the rest of the division - to know what he was about.

The forward immediately set about giving League One defenders a tough time, with his bubbly displays earning him plenty of praise from the stands in St Mary’s, as Saints began to click into gear.

After a first strike for the club in a 1-1 draw with Yeovil Town, the Brazilian finally got off the mark in front of his home crowd in a 4-1 trouncing of Peterborough United in the November.

The team sheet that day against the Posh makes for some reading; with the likes of Jose Fonte at the back, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana in midfield, as well as Rickie Lambert leading the line.

This was the core of a Saints side that would go on to blossom in the Premier League in less than two years’ time, and a swathe of international level players carving apart League One defences at will.

Do Prado would profit from that time and time again in that initial promotion campaign, with the likes of Exeter City, Dagenham and Redbridge and Oldham Athletic all feeling his wrath across the course of a rampant start to 2011, as he netted four times in three league games.

With the race for promotion going down to the wire, every point would prove crucial, and do Prado’s winner at Bristol Rovers in the final stretch of that successful League One season will always live long with Saints fans, as he shrugged off two defenders before firing home to get St Mary’s rocking.

Do Prado continues to impress as Southampton rise through the EFL

The step up in division didn’t seem to phase either player or club, with Nigel Adkins having endless amounts of quality at his disposal, and reaping the rewards with another surge towards promotion.

Once again Guly was playing a key role, scoring winning goals and bagging braces at will, as well as putting in one hell of a shift to run the opposition ragged.

WIth another promotion secured, Saints acted quickly to extend their striker’s deal at St Mary’s for the following two seasons, and even though the goals dried up in the Premier League, he was widely adored by Saints fans as much for his enthusiasm and energy than his end-product.

The Brazilian went 27 league games without a goal over the course of two top-flight seasons with the Saints before his departure from the club, but will have been sent on his way with warm regards from the Hampshire side.

Southampton had fought back to live again in the top tier, and the enigmatic, loveable forward had been front and centre of the action right when his side needed a hero the most.