Hyppia

[Craig_H]

Absolute legend.

He's the sort of person who, when he speaks, people should listen. He's been there, done it and keeps doing it.

Model professional and a superb role model.

£2.5m for a decade of superbly consistent performances - well in Houllier

[Vermilion]

i was one of his biggest critics myself i must admit but he seems to have upped his game in a big way this year.

i was actually hoping he would retire before this season.

glad i was wrong

[Red Wino]

Is he eligeble for the Real Madrid match now that the group stage is done?
Or has the squad not been submitted yet?

[Rich]

The amount of 'Champion Manager'-style **** which was spouted on here about Hyypia last summer was laughable; the guy is playing as well as he has in the last 4 years.

Class act and I'd give him a 2 year deal.

[Imy]

The amount of 'Champion Manager'-style **** which was spouted on here about Hyypia last summer was laughable; the guy is playing as well as he has in the last 4 years.

Class act and I'd give him a 2 year deal.

What helps is that he doesn't start every game and Rafa cherry picks when to play him, so against the likes of Arsenal he would definetly not start but against a more route one direct striker (usually one of the lower clubs) then he'd play.

[Woobus]

Is he eligeble for the Real Madrid match now that the group stage is done?
Or has the squad not been submitted yet?

Think it might be the end of the transfer window before you have to pick your Champ League changes but not to sure.

[memzey]

What helps is that he doesn't start every game and Rafa cherry picks when to play him, so against the likes of Arsenal he would definetly not start but against a more route one direct striker (usually one of the lower clubs) then he'd play.

Agreed

He looks great for us whenever he plays but that is largely due to the way which Rafa is managing him. If he were to go to say Fulham and play every game his level would drop from the high standards he has been displaying for us. Hope it doesn't happen as he has been a true great and I'd hate his memory to be sullied by a poor (by his standards) season or two for a crap club. The term 'legend' is almost as over used as 'world class' but I think it's appropriate for Sami.

I can remember our defence before he signed with the likes of Babb, Kvarme, Ruddock and Scales at centre half . I used to quake with fear every time a cross went into our box. Sami was the biggest player in changing all that

[Imy]

I can remember our defence before he signed with the likes of Babb, Kvarme, Ruddock and Scales at centre half . I used to quake with fear every time a cross went into our box. Sami was the biggest player in changing all that

so true, add to that David James flying out

[memzey]

And Nicky Tanner!

[Red Wino]

Think it might be the end of the transfer window before you have to pick your Champ League changes but not to sure.

That does make sense

[lickedlollipop]

It'll be a sad day, when he's gonna leave Liverpool.

[Cormack74]

From the beeb gossip round up:



Veteran Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia is fast becoming the most wanted man in the January transfer window - Stoke, Fulham, Sunderland, Blackburn and Tottenham all see him as a cut-price option to bolster their defensive options. (Daily Star)

Doubt very much RB wants to sell.

[bipjohn]

I just hope he stays, Rafa played Amdeo Carbone at Valenica until he was 40 I think, and he was a left back, and they won titles with him there. So Sami should still figure in Rafa's plans if he is prepared to wait his chance.

On the name things from earlier, my daughters middle names are Stephanie and Samantha and I didnt tell the wife until after the christenings that they were named after the 2 great centre halves from our 5 trophy year in 2001!!!!!

[captain-caveman]

He's our own Dolph Lundgren (He-Man).

A True Legend. Hope he gets another year.

[Rich]

Not sure if this has been posted before - great article on Hyypia from today's Express

HYYPIA'S STILL THE HERO 10 YEARS ON

WANTED MAN: Liverpool are adamant that 35-year-old Sami Hyypia is too valuable to let go

Wednesday January 7,2009

By Paul Joyce

THE most wanted man in the January transfer window? Craig Bellamy? Scott Parker? Jermaine Pennant?

Take a bow, Sami Hyypia.

From Sunderland to Serie A, Blackburn to the Bundesliga, Tottenham to Turkey, the glut of enquiries for Liverpool’s evergreen centre-half are persistent enough for a small call centre to be housed in one of the offices at Anfield.

Manager Rafa Benitez remains adamant the defender is too valuable to let go, yet it is testament to Hyypia’s enduring appeal that Liverpool could still almost double the £2.5million fee they paid to Dutch side Willem II for the player a decade ago.

Hyypia is in line to make his 700th career appearance on Saturday at Stoke – just another of the clubs who would pay a king’s ransom to recruit the veteran – and his importance to the cause in recent weeks has merely highlighted why he still retains such a fanatical following.

It was former Liverpool chief executive and vice-chairman Peter Robinson who first received a tip-off about Hyypia in 1998, with then manager Gerard Houllier and assistant Phil Thompson quick to act on the information.

Thompson, a central-defender who won seven league titles and two European Cups among other honours in 477 first-team appearances for the club, is better placed than most to pass judgment on Hyypia’s longevity.

“It doesn’t surprise me that so many teams would want Sami,” said Thompson. “He has been, and still is, brilliant for Liverpool.

“When you consider how much he cost then pound-for-pound he is up there with the £440,000 the club paid for Kenny Dalglish.

“I remember going to watch him playing for Finland against Oliver Bierhoff and Germany in Nuremberg. Bierhoff’s strength was in the air and Sami never let him win a header.

“We signed Stephane Henchoz at the same time as Sami and he was the better known of the two and people probably expected more from him.

“But after a couple of days on the training pitch with Sami, I was thinking we’ve signed a central midfielder here because he was that authoritative and comfortable on the ball.

“It always makes me laugh when people started saying a few years ago his pace had gone. Sami Hyypia never had any pace to lose! What he has got is an incredible ability to read the game and that has been his biggest asset. More often than not he is in position.

“I’d be lying if I said that when we signed him I thought he’d still be going strong 10 years later. That’s incredibly difficult to do, especially for a foreign player in the Premier League.

“He’s a legend and, for me, Sami is in Alan Hansen’s ilk.”

If Hyypia’s immediate future remains at Anfield, then Liverpool still have two major decisions to make over his prospects in the coming weeks.

The first is whether to hand him another one-year extension to his present deal which expires in the summer.

Given the uncertainty remaining over Daniel Agger’s long-term prospects, Benitez must wonder where he would find someone as reliable and also as willing to adopt Liverpool’s team-first ethos as Hyypia.

Secondly, and more pressing, Benitez must decide whether to find room in his Champions League squad for 35-year-old Hyypia, having controversially omitted him at the start of the season.

Hyypia is likely to push for clarification over where he now stands, with Liverpool having to resubmit their squad to UEFA for the knockout stages by midnight on February 1.

The perennially-injured Philipp Degen is taking up a place in the squad, although the emergence of Argentine
left-back Emiliano Insua, who is also not presently on the list, complicates what is a sensitive issue.

Xabi Alonso, meanwhile, is a doubt for the trip to Stoke because of the foot injury sustained in the FA Cup win over Preston.

Alonso needed seven stitches in a gash and while he did some running yesterday, his progress will continue to be monitored.

Liverpool’s FA Cup fourth-round showdown with their neighbours Everton has been switched to Sunday, January 25 (KO 4pm), while their trip to Wigan has now been put back 24 hours to be played on Wednesday, January 28.