Bits and Pieces for the Weekend, Or: Everyone Loves Them Some Mexes

By: Martha | November 10th, 2006

Mexes •According to London’s ever-reliable Sun, Rafa Benitez’s agent has been shopping him in Milan. Despite the fact that he’s got four years left on his Anfield contract (and in his time there has turned Liverpool into a team that oscillates wildly between utter uselessness and blinding brilliance), he’s apparently (or not — this is the Sun we’re talking about) jonesing to take the helm at either Inter or Milan. Interestingly, the article quotes Benitez’s agent as calling his client “One of the best three coaches in the world.” Who do you think are one and two? Ferguson and Mourinho? Or is Mourinho too infuriating to appear on any such list, no matter how good he is? Wenger? Capello? I’m telling you right now, my work will suffer today because of the brain power being devoted this question.

•Figo’s coming to MLS again. No, really.

•This is my favorite rumor of the week: Newcastle reportedly want to sign Philippe Mexes. You may have heard that they’re after Beckham, as well. Because, you see, Freddie Shepherd thinks that throwing money at the problem will keep his team from being relegated — conveniently forgetting that everyone he buys either suffers a catastrophic injury, or gets sucked into the Tyneside bog of ineptitude, and is never the same again. Anyway, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that, assuming Roma hasn’t recently lost its collective mind, Mexes isn’t going anywhere. (Or, depending on who you believe, he’s going to Real in a few months.)

•Milan’s Giuseppe Favalli partially tore his MCL against Brescia on Wednesday and will be out for two months. Goddamn domestic cup games. (Edit: Well, either that or he’s fine and will play this weekend. Hmm.)
•Once he collects that Golden Ball and helps Juve return to Serie A, Gianluigi Buffon is out the door, man. Reports indicate Milan (as well as Chelsea and Man U) are eyeing him as a possible replacement for the no-longer-totally-awesome Dida. As much as Juve would surely hate to see him leave, this one sorta makes sense: The huge pile of money the club would make on the sale would make a slightly leakier goal a bit easier to take.

•Oh, and just so you know, Lippi is totally not going to take over at Milan. Seriously. And Ancelotti isn’t alarmed by the rumors, not even a little. (He said as he curled into fetal position and cried himself to sleep. Again.)