Sami Hyypiä

Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (born 7 October 1973) is a Finnish professional football manager and a former player who played as a centre-back.

Hyypiä began his playing 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 made his debut in 1992 and, with 105 caps before retiring in 2010, is the country's third most capped Finnish player after Jari Litmanen and Teemu Pukki.

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 teammates, and again in 1995.

He moved to Willem II 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.

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."

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.

Hyypiä captained the side to qualification for the UEFA Champions League, thus earning a place in the hearts of supporters although he would not be taking part in the campaign.

In 1999, he 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.

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.

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.

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…" Fourteen years on, Hyypiä himself told the BBC that joining Liverpool was a dream come true.

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, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.

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.

He also went on to claim a "treble" of three consecutive FAF Finnish Footballer of the Year awards from 2001 to 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.

Steven Gerrard superseded him as captain in 2003, but Hyypiä still occasionally captained the side in his absence.

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.

On 5 April 2003, Hyypiä received a red card against Manchester United, the only red of his club career.

"[Ruud] 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."

In 2004, new Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez moved Jamie Carragher from fullback to partner Hyypiä in central defence.

Hyypiä won his highest football honour in 2005 as part of Liverpool's victorious 2004–05 Champions League campaign, where his defensive partnership with Jamie Carragher helped them win in the final.

During his ten years in Merseyside, he became a fan favourite and remains a popular figure at the club.

From 2009 to 2011, Hyypiä played for German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where he retired as a player in 2011.

Hyypiä was a prominent figure in the Finland national team and was selected as the Finnish Sports' Journalists and Football Association Player of the Year numerous times.

From the 2012–13 season, he returned to Bayer Leverkusen as its full team manager.

After two successful seasons in the Bundesliga, he returned to English football in 2014 for a brief spell as manager of now Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.

From August 2015 to May 2016, he was manager of Swiss club FC Zürich.

Hyypiä was named in the Finnish Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.

Hyypiä was born in Porvoo and raised in Kuusankoski, Finland, 100 mi north-east of Helsinki, the son of Irma and Jouko Hyypiä.

Hyypiä's parents were both footballers – his father Jouko played for Finnish team Pallo Peikot, while his mother played as an amateur goalkeeper.

Although the young Sami played ice hockey, one of the more popular sports in Finland, his parents' influence was important in him choosing a career in football; he later commented, "I guess there was only one career option for me."