Sami Hyypiä

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Sami Hyypiä
Personal information
Full name Sami Tuomas Hyypiä
Date of birth October 7, 1973 (age 33)
Place of birth    Porvoo, Finland
Height 1.96 m
Playing position Centre Back
Club information
Current club Liverpool
Number 4
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1992–1995
1995–1999
1999–present		 MyPa
Willem II
Liverpool		 063 0(8)
100 0(3)
271 (19)   
National team2
1992–2007 Finland 081 0(5)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 17:55, 24 February 2007 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 17:55, 24 February 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (born October 7, 1973 in Porvoo) is a Finnish footballer who currently plays for Liverpool F.C. in the English Premiership. Hyypiä's height and immense strength makes him a towering figure at the centre of the Liverpool defence and one of the best defenders in Europe. He is a highly experienced and competent defender. He is also known for going forward and often scoring on set pieces; he has scored several spectacular volleys in his years at Liverpool.

Contents

[edit] 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 team against Tunisia on November 7, 1992. He is the leader of Finland's defence, and is also the second choice captain of the team.

In 1995, Hyypiä was bought by Dutch club Willem II. He had a successful time at the club and soon became a fan favourite there. Then in 1999 he was bought by Liverpool, the team he supported as a boy, for £3 million.

Upon arrival at Liverpool Hyypiä immediately formed a successful central defensive partnership with Stéphane Henchoz. In the 2000 – 2001 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 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, 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 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.

As of 2005, he has seemingly been relegated to third-choice captain after Jamie Carragher's ascent as Gerrard's deputy on the field. Hyypiä has made over 390 appearances for Liverpool, and has also scored over 20 goals in the process. He has climbed into the top 25 in the club's all-time appearances table after featuring in the Carling Cup against Arsenal in 2007. 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 will keep him at Anfield until 2008.


[edit] Career honours

MyPa
Liverpool
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


[edit] Statistics

Club Performance
Club Season Premiership FA Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Liverpool FC 2006-07 18 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 24 3
2005-06 33 1 5 1 1 0 14 0 2 0 55 2
2004-05 32 2 1 0 1 0 15 1 0 0 49 3
2003-04 38 4 4 0 1 0 8 1 0 0 51 5
2002-03 36 3 3 0 4 0 12 2 1 0 56 5
2001-02 37 3 2 0 1 0 16 2 1 0 57 5
2000-01 35 3 6 0 6 1 11 0 0 0 58 4
1999-00 38 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 42 2
Club Season Eredivisie Dutch Cup --- Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Willem II 1998-99 26 2 ? ? - - 4 0 0 0 30 2
1997-98 30 0 ? ? - - 0 0 0 0 30 0
1996-97 30 1 ? ? - - 0 0 0 0 30 1
1995-96 14 0 ? ? - - 0 0 0 0 14 0
Club Season Veikkausliiga Finnish Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
MyPa 1995 26 3 ? ? ? ? 4 0 0 0 30 3
1994 25 5 ? ? ? ? 4 0 0 0 29 5
1993 12 0 ? ? ? ? 1 0 0 0 13 0
1992 33 0 ? ? ? ? 0 0 0 0 33 0
Total 463 30 23 2 17 3 89 6 5 0 601 40

[edit] External links


Liverpool F.C. - Current Squad

1 Dudek | 2 Arbeloa | 3 Finnan | 4 Hyypiä | 5 Agger | 6 Riise | 7 Kewell | 8 Gerrard | 9 Fowler | 10 Luis García | 11 Mark González | 12 Fábio Aurélio | 14 Xabi Alonso | 15 Crouch | 16 Pennant | 17 Bellamy | 18 Kuyt | 20 Mascherano | 22 Sissoko | 23 Carragher | 25 Reina | 26 Anderson | 29 Paletta | 30 Padelli | 32 Zenden | 38 Lindfield | 39 Darby | 42 El Zhar | Manager: Benítez
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