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Sami Hyypia
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Position: Defender
Date of Birth: 07/10/1973
Height: 6'4
Weight: 14st
1st team games: 445
1st team goals: 33
International caps: 90
International goals: 5
Former clubs: Pallo-Peikot, KuMu, MyPa Anjalankoski, Willem II
Birth Place: Porvoo
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When Gerrard Houlllier signed a defender called Sami Hyypia from Dutch side Willem II in 1999 the majority of fans had never heard of him. Roll on almost 10 years and the big Finn is firmly established as a Liverpool great, the fee of £2.5m arguably being Houllier’s best bit of business whilst at the club.
By the time he joined Liverpool Hyypia had already been playing as a professional for 7 years, playing for Finnish clubs Pallo-Peikot, KuMu & MyPa Anjalankoski before moving to Holland.
Hyypia could in fact have been plying his trade in the Premiership years before Liverpool showed an interest, having had a trial at Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle in 2005. However Keegan decided against signing him, and Newcastle’s loss was to prove Liverpool’s gain.
Following his capture in 1999 Hyypia went on to form a solid partnership with Stephane Henchoz, the pair playing a key part in Liverpool’s treble success in the 00/01 season. When captain Jamie Redknapp left the club in 2002 Hyypia was the obvious choice to take over the armband, Houllier agreed and handed him the responsibility until Steven Gerrard emerged as a new leader. Despite no longer being captain Hyypia remains a leader both on and off the pitch, and is generally considered to be Liverpool’s third in command after Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
The arrival and subsequent success of Daniel Agger appeared to spell the beginning of the end for Hyypia, with appearances becoming a lot less frequent than in seasons past. However at the start of the 07/08 season Agger sustained an injury that was to see him miss the rest of the campaign, and despite a couple of shaky performances when he first came in Hyypia showed that despite his advancing years he still possessed as much class as ever, and was rewarded in April 2008 with a contract extension keeping him at the club until the summer of 2009.
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