sunnuntai 18. syyskuuta 2011

THE FINNISH POWER: SAMI HYYPIÄ - FOOTBALL/SOCCER SUPERSTAR from FINLAND

Sami Hyypiä



Sami Hyypiä
Hyypia.jpg
Personal information
Full name Sami Tuomas Hyypiä
Date of birth 7 October 1973 (age 37)
Place of birth Porvoo, Finland
Height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[1]
Playing position Centre Back
Youth career
1977–1988 Kumu
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1992–1995 MyPa 96 (8)
1995–1999 Willem II 100 (3)
1999–2009 Liverpool 318 (22)
2009–2011 Bayer Leverkusen 53 (3)
National team‡
1997–2010 Finland 105 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 January 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2010

Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (born 7 October 1973) is a retired European Cup winning Finnish footballer who played in the centre back position. He last played for German Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and was the captain of the Finland national football team. He joined Leverkusen in summer 2009, ending a ten year spell at Liverpool. On 2 May 2011, Hyypia announced his intention to retire from profesional football at the end of the 2010/11 season in order to take up a coaching role with Bayer Leverkusen.

Hyypiä began his career with Ykkönen side KuMu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga outfit MyPa. He spent four years at the club, helping them win the Finnish Cup in 1992 and 1995. He moved to Willem II Tilburg in 1995 and spent the next four years there. He became the team captain and was nominated their player of the year after helping them qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Hyypiä moved to Liverpool, the team he supported as a child, in a deal worth £2.6 million. He quickly established himself in the first team, partnering Stéphane Henchoz in defence. By 2001, he regularly captained the team and that season Liverpool won a slew of honours, completing a cup treble of the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup, in addition to winning the UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield. He became first choice captain in the 2001–02 season and was part of the Football League Cup winning team in 2003. Steven Gerrard superseded him as captain in 2003 but Hyypiä still occasionally captained the side in his absence. Hyypiä won his highest football honour in 2005 as a part of Liverpool’s victorious 2004–05 Champions League campaign. He is fondly remembered by many fans as a Liverpool legend.

Hyypiä has been a prominent figure in the Finland national team and has been selected as the Finnish Sports’ Journalists and Football Association Player of the Year numerous times. He made his debut in 1992 and since then has captained the team on various occasions, as second choice captain. He is the second most capped Finnish player after Jari Litmanen.

On 2 May 2011, Hyypiä announced that he will be retiring from all football at the age of 37. Also stating that he will be trying to spend the next year getting a coaching license and plans to coach for his former playing team Bayer Leverkusen.


Contents


Early life

Hyypiä was born in Porvoo and raised in Kuusankoski, Finland, 100 miles (160 km) north-east of Helsinki; the son of Irma and Jouko Hyypiä.[1][2][3] Hyypiä’s parents were both footballers, his father Jouko playing for Finnish team Pallo Peikot, and his mother an amateur goalkeeper. The young Sami played ice hockey, but his parents’ influence was important in him choosing a career in football; as he commented “I guess there was only one career option for me.”[4]



Club career


Early career

Hyypiä started his career with Pallo-Peikot where he played every position except his final position of defender and KuMu, before joining Veikkausliiga club MyPa for the 1992 season. He won the Finnish Cup with MyPa in 1992, when Jari Litmanen was one of his team mates, and again in 1995. [3]

In 1995 at the age of 22, he went for a trial at Newcastle United, his first taste of English football. 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.”[5]


Willem II Tilburg

Later that year, Hyypiä joined Dutch club Willem II and spent four years with the Eredivisie team, soon becoming a favourite with the fans and winning their player of the year award in his final season.[3] Hyypiä captained the side to qualification for the Champions League, thus earning a place in the hearts of supporters although he would not be taking part in the campaign.


Liverpool

In May 1999, Hyypiä was signed by Liverpool, the team he supported as a boy, for £2.6 million, having been recommended to former chief executive Peter Robinson by a TV cameraman.[6][7] Initially, Hyypiä was regarded as an unknown who would not live up to expectations but this preconception was dismissed when he immediately formed a successful central defensive partnership with fellow arrival Stéphane Henchoz.[8] Almost ten years later in a farewell tribute to Hyypiä, Ron Yeats, then the chief scout for Liverpool, commented that the deal was “one of the best bits of business we’ve done over the years…a steal – a bargain…”[9] In the 2000–01 season, Hyypiä shared the captaincy of Liverpool with Robbie Fowler while Jamie Redknapp, the full-time captain, was suffering from a long-term injury. During that season, Hyypiä and Fowler led the team to a cup treble: the Football League Cup,[10] FA Cup[11] and UEFA Cup.[12] He also went on to claim a “treble” of three consecutive FAF Finnish Footballer of the Year awards from 2001–2003.

In 2002, Hyypiä became first choice 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. With some of the pressure lifted, his performances generally improved.

In 2003, Hyypiä received a red card against Manchester United, the only red of his career. “Van Nistelrooy was going through and maybe I took his shirt a little bit. The referee thought so. I got a straight red card. They got a penalty. It was an agony to watch the game in the dressing room. The only red card of my career. You remember that sort of thing.”[6]

In 2004, new Liverpool manager 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 2005–06 season, Hyypiä was relegated to third-choice captain after Jamie Carragher’s ascent as Gerrard’s deputy on the field. In the FA Cup Sixth Round against Birmingham City, he scored the opening goal in the first minute as the Reds thrashed the home team 7–0. He started in the victorious 2006 FA Cup Final against West Ham, though he missed his spot kick in the penalty shoot-out. 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 in January 2007.

Despite speculation in the summer of 2007 linking him to various other Premier League teams, Hyypiä insisted that he would stay at Liverpool for the remainder of his contract.[13] On 25 August 2007 Hyypiä broke his nose during an away match against Sunderland in the Stadium of Light. He quickly returned on the pitch to play against Toulouse in the Champions League qualifying match on 28 August 2007, in which he scored the second goal for Liverpool while wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

In April 2008, Hyypiä signed a new deal until Summer 2009 with Benítez stating he is a good role model for young defenders such as Martin Škrtel and Daniel Agger.[14] The 2008/2009 season marked the defender’s tenth season at the club. On 22 August 2008, Premier League newcomers Stoke City F.C. offered £2.5 million for Hyypiä but Liverpool rejected the offer.[15] On 2 March 2008 with his appearance against Bolton Wanderers, Hyypiä made it into the top 20 Liverpool FC player appearances of all time.

Hyypiä was voted in 19th place in Sky Sports’ ‘Top 50 Premier League Foreign Players’,[16] 45th in FourFourTwo magazine's 100 Greatest Foreign Players[17] and 38th in Liverpool’s 100 Players Who Shook the Kop survey.[18] Underlining the important role Hyypiä had fulfilled at Liverpool, Ian Rush noted: “He’s got to be up there with the best signings the club has ever made.”[19]

In September 2008, he was not included in the 25-man Liverpool squad for the group stages of the Champions League, as new UEFA regulations meant that clubs had to include at least eight home-grown players in their squad.[20] On 4 May 2009, it was announced that Hyypiä had signed two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen.[21] Liverpool had offered him the chance to stay at Anfield in a coaching capacity but Hyypiä decided to carry on playing, though he expressed interest in returning to Liverpool as a coach once his playing career is over.[22]

Hyypiä's teammates say farewell.

He played his last match for Liverpool at Anfield against Tottenham Hotspur on 24 May 2009, coming on as a substitute to replace captain Steven Gerrard after 84 minutes in their 3–1 win. Gerrard passed the captain’s armband to him, personally putting it onto Hyypiä’s arm. During what remained of the match, Hyypiä managed to get a header from a corner kick in the dying minutes of the game but the attempt was blocked by Heurelho Gomes. After the match ended, an emotional Hyypiä received a standing ovation from Liverpool fans and his teammates held him aloft.[23]

Sami Hyypia made 464 appearances and scored 35 goals winning 10 trophies in the 10 years he was at Liverpool


Bayer Leverkusen

Hyypiä moved to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen during summer 2009, making his official debut on 8 August against Mainz.[24] On 24 January 2010 he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3–0 win over Hoffenheim. Hyypiä’s first season with Bayer Leverkusen saw his club finishing 4th overall, missing by two points the qualification round for Champions League. German sports magazine “Kicker” chose Hyypiä as best Bundesliga defender in 2009 and he was included Bundesliga team of the year for season 2009/10.[25][26]

After Roy Hodgson was appointed as the new Liverpool manager in August 2010 rumors began to circulate that he was determined to bring Hyypiä back to Liverpool. The transfer fell through as reportedly Hodgson could not get Hyypiä out of his contract with Bayer Leverkusen.[27][28] On 25 September 2010 Hyypiä scored his third ever Bundesliga goal with a header against VfB Stuttgart in a 4–1 win.

Hyypiä made public on 6 October 2010 that post-retirement he plans to join Leverkusen as assistant manager. On 2 May 2011 Hyypiä announced ending his football career.[29]



International career

Hyypiä made his debut for the Finnish national football team against Tunisia on 7 November 1992 at age of 19. He went on to be a key member of Finnish national team, participating in five European Championship (EC) and four World Cup (WC) qualifiers. He became one of four Finnish national team players ever to reach milestone of 100 international appearances in a friendly against Sweden on 12 August 2009. Currently Hyypiä ranks as second among all-time most capped Finnish players, with total of 105 matches.[30] Hyypiä became the present captain of the Finnish national team in 2008, succeeding former captain Jari Litmanen.


International goals

Finland’s score first.

# Date Location Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 9 October 1999 Finland Helsinki Northern Ireland 4–1 Win UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2. 12 October 2002 Finland Helsinki Azerbaijan 3–0 Win UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
3. 2 February 2003 Northern Ireland Belfast Northern Ireland 1–0 Win Friendly
4. 7 June 2003 Finland Helsinki Serbia and Montenegro 3–0 Win UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
5. 11 October 2006 Kazakhstan Almaty Kazakhstan 2–0 Win UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying



Retirement from football

In May 2011 Hyypiä confirmed during press conference that the 2010–11 season will be his last in professional football. Shortly after making his retirement public Hyypiä told becoming part of coaching staff for both Finnish national team and Bayer Leverkusen.[31][32]

Hyypiä has set up a fund to help young promising athletes of his native Finland. As part of his efforts to raise funds for the fund, he participated in the Helsinki City Marathon, his first ever, on 20 August 2011. His time was 3 h 56 min 09 s.[33]



Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Finland League Finnish Cup League Cup Europe Total
1992 MyPa Veikkausliiga 33 0



0 0 33 0
1993 12 0



1 0 13 0
1994 25 5



4 0 29 5
1995 26 3



4 0 30 3
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
1995–96 Willem II Tilburg Eredivisie 14 0 0 0 — 0 0 14 0
1996–97 30 1 5 1 — 0 0 35 2
1997–98 30 0 3 0 — 0 0 33 0
1998–99 26 2 1 0 — 4 0 31 2
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1999–00 Liverpool Premier League 38 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 42 2
2000–01 35 3 6 0 6 1 11 0 58 4
2001–02 37 3 2 0 1 0 16 2 56 5
2002–03 36 3 3 0 4 0 12 2 55 5
2003–04 38 4 4 0 1 0 8 1 51 5
2004–05 32 2 1 0 1 0 15 1 49 3
2005–06 36 1 6 1 1 0 14 0 57 2
2006–07 23 2 0 0 1 1 5 0 29 3
2007–08 27 1 4 1 0 0 13 2 44 4
2008–09 16 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 19 2
Germany League DFB-Pokal Premiere Ligapokal Europe Total
2009–10 Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga 32 2 2 0

— 34 2
2010–11 21 1 1 0 0 0 5 0 27 1
Total Finland 96 8



9 0 105 8
Netherlands 100 3 9 1 — 4 0 113 4
England 318 22 29 2 19 3 94 8 460 35
Germany 53 3 3 0 0 0 5 0 61 3
Career total 567 36 41 3 19 3 112 8 739 50

[34]

Finland national team
Year Apps Goals
1992 1 0
1993 0 0
1994 2 0
1995 4 0
1996 5 0
1997 4 0
1998 7 0
1999 7 1
2000 6 0
2001 7 0
2002 6 1
2003 9 2
2004 8 0
2005 8 0
2006 7 1
2007 9 0
2008 5 0
2009 8 0
2010 2 0
Total 105 5


Career honours


MyPa

Finland Winner:

Runner-up:


Willem II Tilburg

Netherlands Runner-up


Liverpool

England Winner:

Runner-up:


Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Germany Runner-up


Personal awards

  • Finnish Sports’ Journalists Player of the Year: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006,[35] 2009,[36] 2010[37]
  • Finnish Football Association Player of the Year: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009,[35] 2010[38]
  • Finnish Sportsperson of the Year: 2001[39]
  • UEFA Team of the Year selection: 2001[40]
  • Premier League Player of the Month: November 1999[41]
  • Goal.com Central Defender of the Decade: December 2009[42]
  • Goal.com Team of the Decade selection: December 2009[42]
  • Soccer Aid Winner – 2010


References

  1. ^ a b "Sami Hyypia 1st team squad profile". Liverpool F.C.. Archived from the original on 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  2. ^ Hyypia, Sami; Hakala, Olli (2003-09-25). "Sami Hyypia: From Voikkaa to the Premiership". Amazon / Mainstream Publishing. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  3. ^ a b c Winter, Henry (1999-09-11). "Hyypiä happy to fill the gaps in Liverpool's suspect defence". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-08-07.[dead link]
  4. ^ "Hyypiä fears Beckham threat". BBC Sport. 2001-03-22. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  5. ^ Hetherington, Paul (2001-09-30). "Football: Sami remembers the Tyne of his life". The Sunday Mirror. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  6. ^ a b Walker, Michael (2005-09-17). "Liverpool's centre of culture". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  7. ^ McNulty, Phil (2002-04-06). "Sami's so unlucky". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  8. ^ Walker, Michael (2002-03-23). "Good is not good enough for Anfield's brick wall". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  9. ^ From one colossus to another…
  10. ^ "Blues shot down as Liverpool lift cup". BBC Sport. 2001-02-25. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  11. ^ "Owen shatters Arsenal in Cup final". BBC Sport. 2001-05-12. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  12. ^ Winter, Henry (2001-05-17). "UEFA Cup Final: Liverpool hit treble top". Telegraph (London). Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  13. ^ Rice, Jimmy (2007-05-30). "Hyy[oa has no plans to leave". Liverpool F.C.. Retrieved 2008-12-18.[dead link]
  14. ^ "Hyypia signs new Liverpool deal". BBC Sport. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  15. ^ Barrett, Tony (2008-08-22). "Rafa Benitez rejects Stoke bid for Sami Hyypia". The Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  16. ^ "Football: Today's Top 20: The best foreign players in the Premiership". The Independent. 2006-10-06. Retrieved 2008-08-07.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Four Four Two's 100 Greatest Foreign Players , To Play in the EPL/SPL". April 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  18. ^ "100 Players Who Shook the Kop: The Definitive List". Liverpool F.C. 2006-10-06. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  19. ^ Rush, Ian (2008-12-09). "Ian Rush: Why bargain buy Sami Hyypia is one of Liverpool's best ever signings". The Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  20. ^ "Hyypia shocked at Reds omission". BBC Sport. 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  21. ^ "Hyypia to join Bayer Leverkusen". BBC Sport. 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  22. ^ I’d Like to Return to Liverpool as a Coach (in Finnish)
  23. ^ Brett, Oliver (2009-05-24). "Liverpool 3–1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  24. ^ "Hyypia agrees German switch". Sky Sports. 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  25. ^ http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/startseite/518932/artikel_Hyypiae_Klarer-geht's-nicht.html
  26. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009%E2%80%9310_Fu%C3%9Fball-Bundesliga
  27. ^ [1]
  28. ^ "Hyypia wanted Reds return". Sky Sports.
  29. ^ "Ex-Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia ends playing career". BBC. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  30. ^ Pietarinen, Heikki (2008-12-18). "Finland – International Player Records". RSSSF. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  31. ^ http://www.iltalehti.fi/jalkapallo/2011050213645435_jp.shtml
  32. ^ http://www.iltalehti.fi/jalkapallo/2011050213645162_jp.shtml
  33. ^ YLE Urheiluruutu, 20 Aug 2011.
  34. ^ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/hyypia-intl.html
  35. ^ a b Pietarinen, Heikki (2008-01-31). "Finland – Player of the Year Awards". RSSSF. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  36. ^ YLE Urheilu: Vuoden parhaat valittu, Kontiolle jo 21:s Vuoden paras -titteli
  37. ^ Suomen Palloliitto Sami Hyypiä jälleen urheilutoimittajien ykkönen
  38. ^ http://www.palloliitto.fi/viestinta/?num=176535 Palloliiton Vuoden Pelaaja
  39. ^ "Hyypiä grabs top award". BBC Sport. 2001-12-28. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  40. ^ "Team of the Year 2001". UEFA. 2002-01-03. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  41. ^ Hadfield, David (1999-12-05). "Houllier heartened as Hyypia is honoured". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  42. ^ a b "Goal.com Player Of The Decade: Results – Position By Position & The Team Of The Decade Revealed". Goal.com. 2009-12-28. Retrieved 2009-12-28.


External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jamie Redknapp 		Liverpool F.C. Captain
2002–2003		 Succeeded by
Steven Gerrard
Preceded by
Jari Litmanen 		Finland football captain
2008–2011		 Succeeded by
Petri Pasanen
Lähettänyt klo
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