Football Player's Biography 7: Philippe Mexès

Full name	Philippe Mexès
Date of birth	30 March 1982 (1982-03-30) (age 28)
Place of birth	Toulouse, France
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Centre back

Philippe Mexès (French pronunciation: [filip meɡˈzɛs]) (born 30 March 1982) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Italian Serie A club Roma^[1] and for the French national team.

Career

Auxerre

Mexès began his career with local club Toulouse, with his older sister regularly taking him to the training sessions. However, he left for Auxerre's youth team when he was sixteen years old after showing a lot of potential at a young age.
He spent five seasons at Auxerre after being promoted to the first team.

Roma

2004–05

Mexès was signed to a four-year contract by A.S. Roma in June 2004.^[2] Roma was later found guilty of misconduct as AJ Auxerre did not agree to the transfer; it was solely the decision of the player. Mexès was suspended^[3] but later the ban was temporarily lifted.^[4] Mexès played his first Serie A match on 12 September 2004 against ACF Fiorentina. In February 2005, the appeal on the 6week ban was rejected^[5] and Mexès was suspended until April. The saga was eventually settled by Mexès, or AS Roma would have had to pay Auxerre €7 million.^[6]

2005–06

After a difficult first season with the capitoline club, Mexès began the 2005–06 campaign on the bench, with fellow central defender Sammy Kuffour being selected ahead of him.^{[citation needed]} Roma's transfer misconduct in the purchase of Mexes led to the club's being suspended in 2005 from signing players other than free agents,^[7] but the ban temporarily lifted in August.^[8] Kuffour was one of the free agents brought in by the club. However, with Kuffour often away on national team duty for Ghana, Mexès began earning more playing time. As the club did not sign anyone due to the ban, he rapidly became a key player for Luciano Spalletti's squad. On Kuffour's return from international play, Mexes retained his spot in the starting eleven. Mexès played 9 out of a possible 10 games for Roma in UEFA Cup competition. He also played in the final of Coppa Italia 2005–06. The Giallorossi finished 5th in Serie A, initially qualifying only for the next year's UEFA Cup, but due to the 2006 Italian football scandal, Roma were awarded 2nd, allowing Mexès to play for the first time in the UEFA Champions League.

2006–07

As one of the key players of Roma, he formed a central defensive partnership with Cristian Chivu. The club reached the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. The club faced Internazionale again at Coppa Italia 2006–07 final. Mexès, partnering with Ferrari, Chivu, and Panucci, helped Roma to a 7–4 aggregate victory, including a 6–2 first leg win. The Giallorossi also finished second in Serie A with the third lowest goals conceded total.

2007–08

With the departure of Chivu, Mexes formed new partnerships with Juan, Panucci and Ferrari in central defense. He also signed a new 5-year contract in which he would earn €4.5M in the first year, increasing to €5M by the last year, in gross annual salary (pre-taxed salary).^[9] The Giallorossi reached the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for the second straight year but lost to eventual champions Manchester United for the second time in the same year year. In Serie A, Roma narrowed an 11 point gap with Internazionale and eventually finished 2nd behind Internazionale, 3 points back. Roma had the second lowest goals conceded total behind Internazionale. At 2008 Coppa Italia Final, Mexès scored the opening goal for Roma, and the Giallorossi went on to win 2-1, defending their title.

2008–09

Mexès, now an established player at Roma, stated on many occasions that he hopes to spend his entire career with Roma, largely because of the love that he has for the club. Many Romanisti view him as a role model, both for his skills as a player and loyalty to the club. When his teammate Christian Chivu left Roma to join Inter Milan, Mexès said that this "treachery" against the club is something he would never do.^{[citation needed]}
With Mexès in defense, Roma qualified for the knockout stage of UEFA Champions League. Mexes missed the second leg against Arsenal and Roma lost in 6–7 penalty shootout. However, Roma's defense conceded the 5th highest number of goals in the domestic league.

2009–10

In Roma's first Europa League match (Thursday 30 July 2009), Mexes scored on a Francesco Totti free kick, giving Roma a draw.
Although he received slightly less playing time with the arrival of Nicolas Burdisso on loan from Inter, Mexès contributed to a defense which helped Roma finish second in Serie A. In the last part of 2010 he has reclaimed his spot in the team, and has established himself as one of the world's most complete central defenders.

Summary

After 5 years at Roma, Mexès has scored 9 goals in the Italian Serie A in 113 league matches for the Giallorossi. He has reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League twice, as well as being Italian Serie A four times. He has also won the Coppa Italia in 2007 and 2008 and the Supercoppa Italiana (Italian Super Cup), at the beginning of the 2007/2008 campaign.

International career

He played for the Under-18 and Under-21 French national football teams, eventually winning a spot in the senior squad in August 2002. In Raymond Domenech's tenure as coach of the national team, he was rarely called up, and he failed to make the French squad for UEFA Euro 2004. He was called up for France's friendly match against Bosnia-Herzegovina in August 2006.
Mexès was not chosen for the 2006 or 2010 FIFA World Cup competitions in Germany and South Africa, respectively.
After 2010 FIFA World Cup, Laurent Blanc was appointed as new coach of the national team, and Mexès played the five first games of the Blanc era, partnering in center back with Adil Rami.

Personal life

Philippe Mexès and his girlfriend, Carla, have two children together. His son, Enzo, was born on 1 June 2003, and his daughter, Eva, was born on 29 July 2007.^[10]