Philippe Mexes – Serie A’s King of the Cards

It’s 22 September 2010, Brescia are battling it out with Roma in their Serie A home fixture with the score standing at 1-1. The ball is passed forward to Andrea Caracciolo, who immediately knocks it into the path of Eder in the box. Philippe Mexes is first onto the ball as he dives into the challenge and gets a toe in to knock the ball away.

Seconds later, the referee awards a penalty deeming the Frenchman’s tackle dangerous and believing there was sufficient contact to bring Eder down. In reality, the Roma man had made an excellent interception that the cameras quickly picked up the official’s mistake.

To add insult to injury, the referee shows Mexes his second yellow card of the game. The Roma players are aggrieved, but none more so than Mexes who confronts the second official angrily, with his team mates struggling to contain the bulky defender. There is no question Mexes was on the receiving end of some bad officiating, but his temper and aggressive methods of defending have made him one of the most tempestuous Serie A players of this decade.

Mexes has recently become the most banned Serie A player of the last ten years, missing as much as 32 games. This astonishing statistic means the Frenchman has served almost a seasons worth of matches through suspension. His most recent misdemeanor came against Juventus when he was caught punching Giorgio Chiellini, resulting in a four match ban. His brushes with referees and players have been well documented, including a long feud with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during his time with Roma. His tendency to bully opponents has made him a hate figure amongst many fan groups and tarnished his image in Italy. However, despite his atrocious record, Mexes is in fact one of the better central defenders in Serie A.

Reasonably comfortable in possession, he will regularly be seen pushing forward with the ball giving his teammates options. His passing is adequate but he does force play into narrow spaces, a fundamental flaw as it suffocates the attacking move. Mexes’ greatest traits are certainly attributed to his physical strength, allowing him to fend off attackers with relative ease; providing they’re smaller than he is. Like many defenders of Mexes’ build, he struggles with the pacey players, with Milan’s recent defeats to Barcelona demonstrating this fact. Despite his modest stature and excellent upper-body strength, Mexes has issues marking tall players such as Luca Toni and the aforementioned Ibrahimovic. Observers would say the 31 year-old looks to contain attackers and not risk letting them get goal-side, because in these situations, Mexes can be diabolical.

Mexes’ career in football began at the age of 12 with Auxerre, where his elaborate defending and dramatic goal-line clearances earned him great appreciation from supporters and also, unsurprisingly, many admirers overseas. Roma were so keen to snatch up the then 22 year-old that he joined the club illegally and Roma were forced to compensate the French side. In the Italian capital Mexes linked up with the likes of Cristian Chivu and Matteo Ferrari to take Roma to the heights of Italian football. Toward the end of his time with Roma he became increasingly important and formed a sturdy partnership with the Brazilian Juan. His transfer to Milan allowed him to deputise Alessandro Nesta; somebody he has so far failed to emulate.

Despite Mexes’ shortcomings, he continues to be a starter in Milan and will undoubtedly be well remembered at the club. He scored two very memorable goals last season: his first was an extraordinary bicycle kick against Anderlecht in the UEFA Champions League, whilst the second ensured the club continued to compete in the European competition with a last minute winner against Siena.

Sadly, it’s unlikely the Frenchmen will be remembered for his defending. In the previous campaign, Milan had the best defensive record in the last 20 matches of Serie A, where both Cristian Zapata and Philippe Mexes played a huge role in the club’s renaissance. As a partnership, they look excellent on paper as the Colombian international can inject a bit of pace, but many Rossoneri will tell you otherwise. Clumsy and disjointed are perhaps polite ways of describing a defense made to look shambolic compared to Milan’s greatest pairings.

With the likely arrival of Adil Rami from Valencia, there’s a strong a likelihood Mexes will continue to play for Milan as he’s reunited with his international team mate. Having his French counterpart beside him could see a resurgence in form and the hope of a better defensive showing from AC Milan in the latter half of the season.

Follow Louis Gibberd-Thomas on Twitter: @mercutio156