Big Sami - some Finn special

I feel genuinely sad at the thought that tomorrow against Spurs, Sami Hyypia will make his final appearance for Liverpool after ten years of impeccable service to the club. It is a poignant thought for a number of reasons. Firstly, with Sami we are talking about a truly fantastic player whom it has been a privilege to watch. In years to come when people discuss the great centre-halves in Liverpool’s illustrious history, Hyypia will be up there with all the legends like Hansen, Lawrenson, Yeats and Thompson. Unlike those others, I and those of my generation can say we witnessed Hyypia’s Liverpool career in full from his debut at Hillsborough in 1999 to the moment he receives his standing ovation at Anfield tomorrow with so many highlights in between.

For me, Sami has been a hero. A player I got excited about seeing. A player I got behind. A player I cheered loudly. A player who’s name I sung with passion. A player I desperately wanted to do well. A player I desperately wanted to take a Premiership medal away from his time at Anfield to go with his League Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Cup, Champions League and European Super Cup medals.

That brings me nicely onto the second reason Sami’s departure is so poignant. Sami’s departure brings to an end a decade in which Liverpool Football Club failed to win the Premiership. In that time, numerous far less gifted players than Sami have picked up medals courtesy of being at other clubs at the right times. Sadly for Sami, in his time at Liverpool – particularly in his peak years - we had too few players who could match the big Finn for quality and consistency to bring home the title. It is a damning indictment of Gerard Houllier’s management of Liverpool football club that his failure to recruit players of the right calibre in the right areas cost Sami the chance of being a League winner in his first 5 years at the club and left Benitez with a squad needing such extensive rebuilding that the title was not won in the 5 years since. For a player of Sami’s quality to have spent a ten-year career at the club without winning the League sums up the underachievement of our football club.

It’s easy to think of highlights from Sami’s time at the club. I will remember his Champions League quarter-final goals against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002, Juventus in 2005 and Arsenal in 2008; his goal-line clearance of Thierry Henry’s shot in the 2001 FA Cup Final; him lifting the UEFA Cup in Dortmund with Robbie Fowler and lifting the Worthington Cup in 2003, and him having the courage to take a penalty-kick in the penalty shoot-out in the FA Cup Final of 2006 (even if it was saved). What I will remember most though was his outstanding performances as a centre-half that are too numerous to mention.

Maybe it’s because in the years prior to his arrival, I had to endure the hapless defending of Phil Babb, Bjorn Tore Kvarme and Dominic Matteo and with David James behind them, any cross into our penalty area was likely to result in a goal for the opposition, but I’ve always appreciated Sami’s no-nonsense approach to defending which saw him consistently get the basics right and make defending look simple. You can count the number of bad games Sami has had on one hand of a Middlesbrough supporter (six).

It was the simplicity of Hyypia’s performances that perhaps ensured he stayed out of the limelight. What perfectly summed up Sami’s Liverpool career was Liverpool victory at Old Trafford this season. Dropped into the first team at a minute’s notice Sami was a colossus. People will remember the fact that Liverpool scored 4. They will remember that we fell behind to a Ronaldo penalty; that Torres forced an equaliser; Gerrard put us ahead; Aurelio made it three, and Dossena rubbed salt into the wound. They will remember the nightmare that Nemanja Vidic experienced before being put out of his misery by the referee’s red card. Not many will recall Hyypia’s contribution that day. Hyypia was so good at being in the right position at the right time and was so flawless in possession that any potential danger from United was snuffed out before it could materialise. Consequently Hyypia won’t have featured in any highlights of that game and yet he was as crucial to Liverpool’s win as Torres or Gerrard that day.

Similarly when I think of the 2005 Champions League Final, it’s easy to recall Carragher’s heroics and Gerrard’s inspirational performance. It’s easy to remember Jerzy Dudek’s antics in the penalty shoot-out and THAT save from Shevchenko. I can remember Vladi’s strike, Alonso’s equaliser, Traore’s balls up for Milan’s first goal and even the sight of Baros and later Cisse running around like headless chickens up front but I can’t remember a single touch by Sami Hyypia in that game. What I do know is that Milan failed to score in 45 second minutes and 30 minutes of stoppage time and that tells me that in addition to the Alamo-style defending from Carra and Jerzy, somewhere in there Sami was doing a terrific job.
Sami, it has been a privilege and a pleasure to have you at Liverpool Football Club. I will miss you but I wish you all the best at Leverkusen and hope one day you return in some capacity. Thanks for the memories.