Phillip Buckley
In the summer of 1999 Liverpool Football Club stood at a crossroads. The old ways of the bootroom and the managerial dynasty that it produced, a dynasty that established the club as England’s most successful side, was dead. In the appointment of Gerard Houllier (as sole manager after an ill-advised joint-managerial experiment with Roy Evans), Liverpool made a decisive break with tradition.
Finishing 7th in the 1998/99 season saw the club out of Europe and well off the title pace. Houllier’s first summer in charge at the club was always going to be crucial, and for Liverpool an arrival in that 1999 recruitment drive was to have a bigger impact on the club than even the Frenchman, or any fan, could have at the time imagined.
Sami Hyypia arrived at Anfield from Dutch side Willem II. At the end of the 1998/99 season Hyypia had helped the unfashionable Willem II into a Champions League spot. Many at the Koning Willem II stadium felt that might just be enough to persuade the Finnish centre-back to remain, at least for another season. But Hyypia was in no mood to snub Liverpool’s advances, even if the Anfield club had no European football at all to look forward to in the 1999/2000 season.
The giant Finn cost Liverpool £2.5M, and was joined by Stephane Henchoz, Vladimir Smicer, Erik Meijer, and Sander Westerveld. At that moment it would have been hard for Reds fans to recognise true quality amongst those unfamiliar faces. In fact, Hyypia, whose transfer fee was lower than all except bosman arrival Erik Meijer, may have been on that scale the fourth best new-boy. But of course, football doesn’t work like that, and transfer fees are not always an accurate guide to a player’s quality.
From the moment Hyypia assumed his place at the heart of the Liverpool defence it was clear to all Reds fans he had found his home. And they had addressed a need that had been a running sore since Alan Hansen, Glenn Hysen and Mark Wright ceased to line up for the Redmen. With his bright blonde hair and commanding figure, Hyypia marshalled the Liverpool defence with ease. Opposition sides soon realised that long balls, where they had had so much success in breaching the Anfield backline in previous seasons, would be won and batted away by Hyypia all day long. The Finn started every single Premier League match in his first season at the club, and a finish of 4th ensured European football would be back at Anfield. In one swift move, Gerard Houllier had taken a huge step towards creating the watertight defence that would become his trademark as Liverpool went on to win a treble of trophies in 2001.
It’s difficult to imagine Liverpool, under Houllier, and then Benitez, would have enjoyed quite so much success were it not for Hyypia. With Gerard Houllier at the helm the big Finn formed a fearsome partnership with Stephane Henchoz. This rock-solid heart of the defence allowed the French boss to base his entire team around the counter-attacking philosophy. Houllier knew that the odds were against any forward line dominating Hyypia and Henchoz. And when Benitez came it was Henchoz that was to be surplus to requirements, not Hyypia.
It’s a measure of the man that even at the age of 35, this season, his last with the club, many Reds fans continued to advocate a starting place for Hyypia, ahead of one of the younger and quicker duo of Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel. In truth Hyypia has never been blessed with great pace, and perhaps that makes the resounding success he has enjoyed in the Premier League, the quickest league in the world, all the greater. The Finnish international can read the game like a chess grand master, and his ability to be two, sometimes even three, steps ahead of his attacking opponents meant blistering pace was not needed. Sami Hyypia rarely needed pace to correct an error, because he made so little of them.
Hyypia continues to be a model professional and espouses so many of the qualities that fans everywhere wish were more prevalent in the modern game. When, in 2001, Hyypia lined up for Finland against England, he met his then club colleague Emile Heskey. The giant Finnish centre-half took exception to Heskey, another giant, going down with relative ease. Upon Heskey’s return to Anfield he found a present waiting for him in his locker. Heskey hurriedly unwrapped the package, tearing off the gift-wrapping. What greeted him was a snorkel, diving mask and pair of flippers. The point had been made in, and in the way only Sami Hyypia could.
As Liverpool head into the 2009/10 season it will be without the familiar site of Sami Hyypia leading the charge. Club captain until 2003, having made 464 appearances for the club, and with a trophy cabinet including the Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, League Cup and FA Cup, his experience will be missed. Offered a coaching role by Rafael Benitez, another sign of his standing within Anfield, it is a role that surely awaits him whenever he wants it. For the next two years at least, Hyypia will enjoy a German adventure with Bayer Leverkusen. Even in his twilight years the Finnish defender will be an asset to the Bundesliga.
The word legend is perhaps one of the most overused in modern football, often being ascribed to any player who might happen to score a crucial goal just once. In the case of Sami Hyypia the word legend is well deserved, and he will surely be remembered alongside other Liverpool legends by fans far and wide. At 35, Hyypia is not finished yet, but he would never sit on the sidelines at Anfield marking time and picking up his wages. It is not his way.
*Original* Kaiserslautern 96/97 *Original* Slavia Prague 05/06
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