Sami Hyypiä

Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (born October 7, 1973 in Porvoo) is a Finland football (soccer) who currently plays for Liverpool F.C] in the England FA Premier League. Hyypiä's height and strength makes him a towering figure at the centre of the Liverpool defence. He is a highly experienced and competent defender. He is also known for going forward and often scoring on set pieces.

Biography

Hyypiä started his career with Pallo-Peikot and KuMu, before joining Veikkausliiga club MyPa for the 1992 season. He won the Finnish Cup with MyPa in 1992 and 1995. Hyypiä made his debut for the Finnish national football team against Tunisia national football team on November 7 1992. He is the leader of Finland's defence, and is also the second choice captain of the team.

In 1995, he went on trial at Newcastle F.C] for first taste of English football when he was 20. Hyypiä said "They (Newcastle) certainly helped my career. I had a two-week trial in 1995 under Kevin Keegan and it gave me an insight into English football. I was a young player in Finland and I didn't really expect it to lead to anything. I just went for the experience, but it was good experience and I enjoyed my time there. It helped me a lot at the time to see a big English club at close hand and I always look forward to going back."

Later that year Hyypiä joined Netherlands club Willem II. He had a successful time at the club and soon became a favourite with the fans.

In 1999 Hyypiä was bought by Liverpool F.C., the team he supported as a boy, for £3 million, having been recommended to former chief executive Peter Robinson by a TV cameraman. Upon his arrival, Hyypiä immediately formed a successful central defensive partnership with fellow arrival Stéphane Henchoz. In the FA Premier League 2000-01 season, Hyypiä shared the captaincy of Liverpool with Robbie Fowler while Jamie Redknapp, the full-time captain (football), was suffering from a long-term injury. During that season, Hyypiä and Fowler lead the team to a historic cup treble: the Worthington Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
In 2002, Hyypiä became the full-time Liverpool captain after Redknapp, who had been blighted by long-term injuries, and Fowler both left the club. However after such a bright start to his Liverpool career came a relative lull and in 2003 Hyypiä was replaced as Liverpool captain by Steven Gerrard.

In 2004, new Liverpool manager (football) Rafael Benítez moved Jamie Carragher from fullback to partner Hyypiä in central defence. This seemingly reinvigorated Hyypiä and the team went on to have a successful season, winning the UEFA Champions League, on the back of their solid defence. On 10 August 2005, it was reported that Hyypiä had agreed to a new three-year contract after weeks of talks with the Reds which would keep him at Anfield until 2008.

During the FA Premier League 2005-06 he was relegated to third-choice captain after Jamie Carragher's ascent as Gerrard's deputy on the field. During the season he climbed into the top 25 in the club's all-time appearances table after featuring in the Carling Cup against Arsenal F.C] in January 2007.

Despite speculation in the summer of 2007 linking him to Fulham FC, Newcastle United, Reading FC and Wigan Athletic , Hyypiä insisted that he will stay until the end of his contract.On 25 August 2007 Hyppia broke his nose during an away match against Sunderland in the Stadium of Light. He quickly returned on the pitch to play against Toulouse FC in the Champions League qualifying match on 28 August 2007, in which he scored the second goal for Liverpool while wearing the captains armband in the absence of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

Hyypiä is married to Susanna Rissanen. They have two sons; Rico Nestor Hyypiä and Kasper Erik Hyypiä.

Career honours

MyPa

Winner
- 1992 Finnish Cup
- 1995 Finnish Cup

Liverpool

Winner
- Football League Cup Final 2001 Football League Cup
- FA Cup Final 2001 FA Cup
- UEFA Cup 2000-01 UEFA Cup
- 2001 Charity Shield
- 2001 European Super Cup
- Football League Cup Final 2003 Football League Cup
- UEFA Champions League 2004-05 UEFA Champions League
- 2005 European Super Cup
- FA Cup Final 2006 FA Cup
- 2006 Community Shield

Runner Up
- Football League Cup Final 2005 Football League Cup
- FIFA Club World Championship 2005 FIFA Club World Championship
- UEFA Champions League 2006-07 UEFA Champions League

Personal awards

- Finnish Player of the Year: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006
- Finnish Sportsperson of the Year: 2001
- UEFA Team of the Year selection: 2001