Sami Hyypiä
Encyclopedia
Sami Tuomas Hyypiä is a retired European Cup winning Finnish
footballer who played in the centre back position. He last played for German Bundesliga
side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and was the captain of the Finland national football team
. He joined Leverkusen in summer 2009, ending a ten year spell at Liverpool
. On 2 May 2011, Hyypia announced his intention to retire from professional football at the end of the 2010/11 season in order to take up a coaching role with Bayer Leverkusen.
Hyypiä began his career with Ykkönen
side KuMu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga
outfit MyPa
. He spent four years at the club, helping them win the Finnish Cup
in 1992 and 1995. He moved to Willem II Tilburg
in 1995 and spent the next four years there. He became the team captain and was nominated their player of the year after helping them qualify for the UEFA Champions League
.
Hyypiä moved to Liverpool, the team he supported as a child, in a deal worth £2.6 million. He quickly established himself in the first team, partnering Stéphane Henchoz
in defence. By 2001, he regularly captained the team and that season Liverpool won a slew of honours, completing a cup treble of the League Cup
, FA Cup
and UEFA Cup
, in addition to winning the UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield
. He became first choice captain in the 2001–02 season
and was part of the Football League Cup winning team in 2003. Steven Gerrard
superseded him as captain in 2003 but Hyypiä still occasionally captained the side in his absence. Hyypiä won his highest football honour in 2005 as a part of Liverpool’s victorious 2004–05 Champions League
campaign. He is fondly remembered by many fans as a Liverpool legend.
Hyypiä has been a prominent figure in the Finland national team and has been selected as the Finnish Sports’ Journalists and Football Association Player of the Year
numerous times. He made his debut in 1992 and since then has captained the team on various occasions, as second choice captain. He is the second most capped Finnish player after Jari Litmanen
.
On 2 May 2011, Hyypiä announced that he will be retiring from all football at the age of 37. Also stating that he will be trying to spend the next year getting a coaching license and plans to coach for his former playing team Bayer Leverkusen.
, Finland, 100 miles (160.9 km) north-east of Helsinki
; the son of Irma and Jouko Hyypiä. Hyypiä’s parents were both footballers, his father Jouko playing for Finnish team Pallo Peikot, and his mother an amateur goalkeeper.
The young Sami played ice hockey, but his parents’ influence was important in him choosing a career in football; as he commented “I guess there was only one career option for me.”
club MyPa
for the 1992 season. He won the Finnish Cup
with MyPa in 1992, when Jari Litmanen
was one of his team mates, and again in 1995.
In 1995 at the age of 22, he went for a trial at Newcastle United
, his first taste of English football. Hyypiä said “They (Newcastle) certainly helped my career. I had a two-week trial in 1995 under Kevin Keegan
and it gave me an insight into English football. I was a young player in Finland and I didn’t really expect it to lead to anything. I just went for the experience, but it was good experience and I enjoyed my time there. It helped me a lot at the time to see a big English club at close hand and I always look forward to going back.”
club Willem II
and spent four years with the Eredivisie
team, soon becoming a favourite with the fans and winning their player of the year award in his final season. Hyypiä captained the side to qualification for the Champions League, thus earning a place in the hearts of supporters although he would not be taking part in the campaign.
, the team he supported as a boy, for £
2.6 million, having been recommended to former chief executive Peter Robinson by a TV cameraman. Initially, Hyypiä was regarded as an unknown who would not live up to expectations but this preconception was dismissed when he immediately formed a successful central defensive partnership with fellow arrival Stéphane Henchoz
. Almost ten years later in a farewell tribute to Hyypiä, Ron Yeats
, then the chief scout for Liverpool, commented that the deal was “one of the best bits of business we’ve done over the years…a steal – a bargain…”
In the 2000–01
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 led the team to a cup treble: the Football League Cup
, FA Cup
and UEFA Cup
. He also went on to claim a “treble” of three consecutive FAF
Finnish Footballer of the Year
awards from 2001–2003.
In 2002, Hyypiä became first choice Liverpool captain after Redknapp, who had been blighted by long-term injuries, and Fowler both 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
. With some of the pressure lifted, his performances generally improved.
In 2003, Hyypiä received a red card against Manchester United, the only red of his career. “Van Nistelrooy was going through and maybe I took his shirt a little bit. The referee thought so. I got a straight red card. They got a penalty. It was an agony to watch the game in the dressing room. The only red card of my career. You remember that sort of thing.”
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. 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 would keep him at Anfield until 2008.
During the 2005–06 season
, Hyypiä was relegated to third-choice captain after Jamie Carragher’s ascent as Gerrard’s deputy on the field. In the FA Cup Sixth Round against Birmingham City
, he scored the opening goal in the first minute as the Reds thrashed the home team 7–0. He started in the victorious 2006 FA Cup Final against West Ham, though he missed his spot kick in the penalty shoot-out. During the season, he climbed into the top 25 in the club’s all-time appearances table after featuring in the Carling Cup
against Arsenal
in January 2007.
Despite speculation in the summer of 2007 linking him to various other Premier League teams, Hyypiä insisted that he would stay at Liverpool for the remainder of his contract. On 25 August 2007 Hyypiä broke his nose during an away match against Sunderland
in the Stadium of Light
. He quickly returned on the pitch to play against Toulouse
in the Champions League
qualifying match on 28 August 2007, in which he scored the second goal for Liverpool while wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Steven Gerrard
and Jamie Carragher
.
In April 2008, Hyypiä signed a new deal until Summer 2009 with Benítez stating he is a good role model for young defenders such as Martin Škrtel
and Daniel Agger
.
The 2008/2009 season marked the defender’s tenth season at the club. On 22 August 2008, Premier League newcomers Stoke City F.C.
offered £2.5 million for Hyypiä but Liverpool rejected the offer. On 2 March 2008 with his appearance against Bolton Wanderers, Hyypiä made it into the top 20 Liverpool FC player appearances of all time.
Hyypiä was voted in 19th place in Sky Sports
’ ‘Top 50 Premier League Foreign Players’, 45th in FourFourTwo
magazine's 100 Greatest Foreign Players and 38th in Liverpool’s 100 Players Who Shook the Kop survey. Underlining the important role Hyypiä had fulfilled at Liverpool, Ian Rush
noted: “He’s got to be up there with the best signings the club has ever made.”
In September 2008, he was not included in the 25-man Liverpool squad for the group stages of the Champions League, as new UEFA regulations meant that clubs had to include at least eight home-grown players in their squad.
On 4 May 2009, it was announced that Hyypiä had signed two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen
.
Liverpool had offered him the chance to stay at Anfield in a coaching capacity but Hyypiä decided to carry on playing, though he expressed interest in returning to Liverpool as a coach once his playing career is over.
He played his last match for Liverpool at Anfield against Tottenham Hotspur on 24 May 2009, coming on as a substitute to replace captain Steven Gerrard after 84 minutes in their 3–1 win. Gerrard passed the captain’s armband to him, personally putting it onto Hyypiä’s arm. During what remained of the match, Hyypiä managed to get a header from a corner kick in the dying minutes of the game but the attempt was blocked by Heurelho Gomes. After the match ended, an emotional Hyypiä received a standing ovation from Liverpool fans and his teammates held him aloft.
Sami Hyypia made 464 appearances and scored 35 goals winning 10 trophies in the 10 years he was at Liverpool
side Bayer Leverkusen during summer 2009, making his official debut on 8 August against Mainz
.
On 24 January 2010 he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3–0 win over Hoffenheim
. Hyypiä’s first season with Bayer Leverkusen saw his club finishing 4th overall, missing by two points the qualification round for Champions League. German sports magazine “Kicker
” chose Hyypiä as best Bundesliga defender in 2009 and he was included Bundesliga team of the year for season 2009/10.
After Roy Hodgson
was appointed as the new Liverpool
manager in August 2010 rumors began to circulate that he was determined to bring Hyypiä back to Liverpool. The transfer fell through as reportedly Hodgson could not get Hyypiä out of his contract with Bayer Leverkusen. On 25 September 2010 Hyypiä scored his third ever Bundesliga goal with a header against VfB Stuttgart in a 4–1 win.
Hyypiä made public on 6 October 2010 that post-retirement he plans to join Leverkusen as assistant manager
. On 2 May 2011 Hyypiä announced ending his football career.
on 7 November 1992 at age of 19. He went on to be a key member of Finnish national team, participating in five European Championship (EC) and four World Cup (WC) qualifiers. He became one of four Finnish national team players ever to reach milestone of 100 international appearances in a friendly against Sweden on 12 August 2009. Currently Hyypiä ranks as second among all-time most capped Finnish players, with total of 105 matches. Hyypiä preceded Jari Litmanen
as captain of the Finnish national team in 2008. His last appearance for national team was against Hungary in EC 2012 qualification group match on 12th October 2010 (1-2 home defeat).
Hyypiä has set up a fund to help young promising athletes of his native Finland. As part of his efforts to raise funds for the fund, he participated in the Helsinki City Marathon
, his first ever, on 20 August 2011. His time was 3 h 56 min 09 s.
|1992
||rowspan=4|MyPa
||rowspan=4|Veikkausliiga
||33||0||||||||||0||0||33||0
|-
|1993
||12||0||||||||||1||0||13||0
|-
|1994
||25||5||||||||||4||0||29||5
|-
|1995
||26||3||||||||||4||0||30||3
|-
|1995–96
||rowspan=4|Willem II Tilburg
||rowspan=4|Eredivisie
||14||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||0||0||14||0
|-
|1996–97
||30||1||5||1||colspan=2|—||0||0||35||2
|-
|1997–98
||30||0||3||0||colspan=2|—||0||0||33||0
|-
|1998–99
||26||2||1||0||colspan=2|—||4||0||31||2
|-
|1999–00||rowspan=10|Liverpool
||rowspan=10|Premier League||38||2||2||0||2||0||0||0||42||2
|-
|2000–01
||35||3||6||0||6||1||11||0||58||4
|-
|2001–02
||37||3||2||0||1||0||16||2||56||5
|-
|2002–03
||36||3||3||0||4||0||12||2||55||5
|-
|2003–04
||38||4||4||0||1||0||8||1||51||5
|-
|2004–05
||32||2||1||0||1||0||15||1||49||3
|-
|2005–06
||36||1||6||1||1||0||14||0||57||2
|-
|2006–07
||23||2||0||0||1||1||5||0||29||3
|-
|2007–08||27||1||4||1||0||0||13||2||44||4
|-
|2008–09||16||1||1||0||2||1||0||0||19||2
|-
|2009–10||rowspan=2|Bayer Leverkusen||rowspan=2|Bundesliga
||32||2||2||0||||||colspan=2|—||34||2
|-
|2010–11||21||1||1||0||0||0||5||0||27||1
96||8||||||||||9||0||105||8
100||3||9||1||colspan=2|—||4||0||113||4
318||22||29||2||19||3||94||8||460||35
|53||3||3||0||0||0||5||0||61||3
567||36||41||3||19||3||112||8||739||50
|-
|1992||1||0
|-
|1993||0||0
|-
|1994||2||0
|-
|1995||4||0
|-
|1996||5||0
|-
|1997||4||0
|-
|1998||7||0
|-
|1999||7||1
|-
|2000||6||0
|-
|2001||7||0
|-
|2002||6||1
|-
|2003||9||2
|-
|2004||8||0
|-
|2005||8||0
|-
|2006||7||1
|-
|2007||9||0
|-
|2008||5||0
|-
|2009||8||0
|-
|2010||2||0
|-
!Total||105||5
|}
Winner:
Runner-up:
Winner:
Runner-up:
Runner-up
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
footballer who played in the centre back position. He last played for German Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
side Bayer 04 Leverkusen and was the captain of the Finland national football team
Finland national football team
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....
. He joined Leverkusen in summer 2009, ending a ten year spell at Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. On 2 May 2011, Hyypia announced his intention to retire from professional football at the end of the 2010/11 season in order to take up a coaching role with Bayer Leverkusen.
Hyypiä began his career with Ykkönen
Ykkönen
Ykkönen is the second highest level of the Finnish football league system , although it is the highest league managed by the Football Association of Finland.-Competition:...
side KuMu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...
outfit MyPa
MyPa
Myllykosken Pallo –47 is a Finnish football club, based in the industrial town of Myllykoski, part of the city of Kouvola since January 2009. They currently play in the Finnish Premier Division...
. He spent four years at the club, helping them win the Finnish Cup
Finnish Cup
The Finnish Cup is Finland's main national cup competition in football.This yearly competition is open for member clubs of the FA of Finland. Finnish Cup has been played since 1955.Finnish Cup winner qualifies to UEFA Europa League...
in 1992 and 1995. He moved to Willem II Tilburg
Willem II Tilburg
Willem II , also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia...
in 1995 and spent the next four years there. He became the team captain and was nominated their player of the year after helping them qualify for the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
.
Hyypiä moved to Liverpool, the team he supported as a child, in a deal worth £2.6 million. He quickly established himself in the first team, partnering Stéphane Henchoz
Stéphane Henchoz
Stéphane Henchoz is a former Swiss international footballer who last played for Blackburn Rovers as a defender. He has been capped 72 times and played for his country at Euro 1996 and Euro 2004.- Early career :...
in defence. By 2001, he regularly captained the team and that season Liverpool won a slew of honours, completing a cup treble of the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
, FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, in addition to winning the UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield
FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
. He became first choice captain in the 2001–02 season
FA Premier League 2001-02
The 2001–02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition. It began with a new sponsor, Barclaycard, and was titled the FA Barclaycard Premiership, replacing the previous sponsor, Carling...
and was part of the Football League Cup winning team in 2003. Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
superseded him as captain in 2003 but Hyypiä still occasionally captained the side in his absence. Hyypiä won his highest football honour in 2005 as a part of Liverpool’s victorious 2004–05 Champions League
UEFA Champions League 2004-05
The 2004–05 UEFA Champions League was the 50th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the 13th since it was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League in 1992. The competition was won by Liverpool, who beat Milan on penalties in the final, having come back from 3–0 down...
campaign. He is fondly remembered by many fans as a Liverpool legend.
Hyypiä has been a prominent figure in the Finland national team and has been selected as the Finnish Sports’ Journalists and Football Association Player of the Year
Finnish Footballer of the Year
There are two different Finnish Player of the Year Awards in Finland. The sports journalists have elected their "Player of the Year" since 1947, the Football Association of Finland theirs since 1953.-Finnish Footballer of the Year:-References:*...
numerous times. He made his debut in 1992 and since then has captained the team on various occasions, as second choice captain. He is the second most capped Finnish player after Jari Litmanen
Jari Litmanen
Jari Olavi Litmanen is a Finnish footballer, currently playing for HJK. He is the current vice-captain of Finland national football team, where he served as a first choice captain between 1996–2008...
.
On 2 May 2011, Hyypiä announced that he will be retiring from all football at the age of 37. Also stating that he will be trying to spend the next year getting a coaching license and plans to coach for his former playing team Bayer Leverkusen.
Early life
Hyypiä was born in Porvoo and raised in KuusankoskiKuusankoski
Kuusankoski is a former industrial town and municipality of Finland, located in the region of Kymenlaakso in the province of Southern Finland. The population of Kuusankoski was 20,392 and the total area was 129.5 km² of which 114 km² was land and 14.56 km² water. It is located some ...
, Finland, 100 miles (160.9 km) north-east of Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
; the son of Irma and Jouko Hyypiä. Hyypiä’s parents were both footballers, his father Jouko playing for Finnish team Pallo Peikot, and his mother an amateur goalkeeper.
The young Sami played ice hockey, but his parents’ influence was important in him choosing a career in football; as he commented “I guess there was only one career option for me.”
Early career
Hyypiä started his career with Pallo-Peikot where he played every position except his final position of defender and KuMu, before joining VeikkausliigaVeikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...
club MyPa
MyPa
Myllykosken Pallo –47 is a Finnish football club, based in the industrial town of Myllykoski, part of the city of Kouvola since January 2009. They currently play in the Finnish Premier Division...
for the 1992 season. He won the Finnish Cup
Finnish Cup
The Finnish Cup is Finland's main national cup competition in football.This yearly competition is open for member clubs of the FA of Finland. Finnish Cup has been played since 1955.Finnish Cup winner qualifies to UEFA Europa League...
with MyPa in 1992, when Jari Litmanen
Jari Litmanen
Jari Olavi Litmanen is a Finnish footballer, currently playing for HJK. He is the current vice-captain of Finland national football team, where he served as a first choice captain between 1996–2008...
was one of his team mates, and again in 1995.
In 1995 at the age of 22, he went for a trial at Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
, his first taste of English football. Hyypiä said “They (Newcastle) certainly helped my career. I had a two-week trial in 1995 under Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
and it gave me an insight into English football. I was a young player in Finland and I didn’t really expect it to lead to anything. I just went for the experience, but it was good experience and I enjoyed my time there. It helped me a lot at the time to see a big English club at close hand and I always look forward to going back.”
Willem II Tilburg
Later that year, Hyypiä joined DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
club Willem II
Willem II Tilburg
Willem II , also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia...
and spent four years with the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
team, soon becoming a favourite with the fans and winning their player of the year award in his final season. Hyypiä captained the side to qualification for the Champions League, thus earning a place in the hearts of supporters although he would not be taking part in the campaign.
Liverpool
In May 1999, Hyypiä was signed by LiverpoolLiverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, the team he supported as a boy, for £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
2.6 million, having been recommended to former chief executive Peter Robinson by a TV cameraman. Initially, Hyypiä was regarded as an unknown who would not live up to expectations but this preconception was dismissed when he immediately formed a successful central defensive partnership with fellow arrival Stéphane Henchoz
Stéphane Henchoz
Stéphane Henchoz is a former Swiss international footballer who last played for Blackburn Rovers as a defender. He has been capped 72 times and played for his country at Euro 1996 and Euro 2004.- Early career :...
. Almost ten years later in a farewell tribute to Hyypiä, Ron Yeats
Ron Yeats
Ronald 'Ron' Yeats is a Scottish former footballer. He was the captain of the first great Liverpool team of the 1960s.-Life and playing career:...
, then the chief scout for Liverpool, commented that the deal was “one of the best bits of business we’ve done over the years…a steal – a bargain…”
In the 2000–01
FA Premier League 2000-01
The FA Premier League 2000-01 season was the third season running which ended with Manchester United as champions and Arsenal as runners-up. Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager to win three successive English league titles, although three teams had achieved that feat in the past - but with...
season, Hyypiä shared the captaincy of Liverpool with Robbie Fowler
Robbie Fowler
Robert Bernard Fowler is an English footballer who is currently player/manager for Thai Premier League club Muangthong United....
while Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Frank Redknapp is a retired English footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is now a football pundit with Sky Sports, and an editorial columnist with the Daily Mail....
, the full-time captain, was suffering from a long-term injury. During that season, Hyypiä and Fowler led the team to a cup treble: the Football League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
, FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
and UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. He also went on to claim a “treble” of three consecutive FAF
Football Association of Finland
The Football Association of Finland is the governing body of football in Finland. It was founded in 1907, and was also the governing body of bandy in Finland until the bandy association, Suomen Jääpalloliitto, was founded in 1972....
Finnish Footballer of the Year
Finnish Footballer of the Year
There are two different Finnish Player of the Year Awards in Finland. The sports journalists have elected their "Player of the Year" since 1947, the Football Association of Finland theirs since 1953.-Finnish Footballer of the Year:-References:*...
awards from 2001–2003.
In 2002, Hyypiä became first choice Liverpool captain after Redknapp, who had been blighted by long-term injuries, and Fowler both 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
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
. With some of the pressure lifted, his performances generally improved.
In 2003, Hyypiä received a red card against Manchester United, the only red of his career. “Van Nistelrooy was going through and maybe I took his shirt a little bit. The referee thought so. I got a straight red card. They got a penalty. It was an agony to watch the game in the dressing room. The only red card of my career. You remember that sort of thing.”
In 2004, new Liverpool manager
Manager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
moved Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
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
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, on the back of their solid defence. 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 would keep him at Anfield until 2008.
During the 2005–06 season
FA Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 season of the FA Premier League began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April...
, Hyypiä was relegated to third-choice captain after Jamie Carragher’s ascent as Gerrard’s deputy on the field. In the FA Cup Sixth Round against Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
, he scored the opening goal in the first minute as the Reds thrashed the home team 7–0. He started in the victorious 2006 FA Cup Final against West Ham, though he missed his spot kick in the penalty shoot-out. During the season, he climbed into the top 25 in the club’s all-time appearances table after featuring in the Carling Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
against Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in January 2007.
Despite speculation in the summer of 2007 linking him to various other Premier League teams, Hyypiä insisted that he would stay at Liverpool for the remainder of his contract. On 25 August 2007 Hyypiä broke his nose during an away match against Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
in the Stadium of Light
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...
. He quickly returned on the pitch to play against Toulouse
Toulouse FC
Toulouse Football Club is a French association football club based in the city of Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Toulouse plays its home matches at the Stadium Municipal located within the city. The first team is managed by...
in the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
qualifying match on 28 August 2007, in which he scored the second goal for Liverpool while wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
and Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...
.
In April 2008, Hyypiä signed a new deal until Summer 2009 with Benítez stating he is a good role model for young defenders such as Martin Škrtel
Martin Škrtel
Martin Škrtel is a Slovak footballer who plays in defence for Liverpool and the Slovakia national football team.-Biography:Škrtel was born in Handlová and raised in Ráztočno and began playing football at the age of six...
and Daniel Agger
Daniel Agger
Daniel Munthe Agger is a Danish footballer who plays for Liverpool and the Denmark national football team. He started his senior career at Danish club Brøndby IF in July 2004, with whom he won the 2005 Danish Superliga championship. The Liverpool fans have created a song for him to the tune of...
.
The 2008/2009 season marked the defender’s tenth season at the club. On 22 August 2008, Premier League newcomers Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
offered £2.5 million for Hyypiä but Liverpool rejected the offer. On 2 March 2008 with his appearance against Bolton Wanderers, Hyypiä made it into the top 20 Liverpool FC player appearances of all time.
Hyypiä was voted in 19th place in Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
’ ‘Top 50 Premier League Foreign Players’, 45th in FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo
FourFourTwo is a football magazine published by Haymarket. Published monthly, costing £4.50, and at about 164 pages long, it published its 200th edition in February 2011...
magazine's 100 Greatest Foreign Players and 38th in Liverpool’s 100 Players Who Shook the Kop survey. Underlining the important role Hyypiä had fulfilled at Liverpool, Ian Rush
Ian Rush
Ian James Rush, MBE, is a retired football player from Flint, Wales. He is best remembered as a player for Liverpool, where he was among the top strikers in the English game in the 1980s and 1990s. He also had spells playing at Chester City, Juventus, Leeds United, Newcastle United, Sheffield...
noted: “He’s got to be up there with the best signings the club has ever made.”
In September 2008, he was not included in the 25-man Liverpool squad for the group stages of the Champions League, as new UEFA regulations meant that clubs had to include at least eight home-grown players in their squad.
On 4 May 2009, it was announced that Hyypiä had signed two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most well-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports.-Origins and early years:On 27 November...
.
Liverpool had offered him the chance to stay at Anfield in a coaching capacity but Hyypiä decided to carry on playing, though he expressed interest in returning to Liverpool as a coach once his playing career is over.
Sami Hyypia made 464 appearances and scored 35 goals winning 10 trophies in the 10 years he was at Liverpool
Bayer Leverkusen
Hyypiä moved to BundesligaFußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
side Bayer Leverkusen during summer 2009, making his official debut on 8 August against Mainz
1. FSV Mainz 05
1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05, or simply Mainz, is a 1905 founded German association football club based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to the football section the 1. FSV Mainz 05 has a handball and table tennis department...
.
On 24 January 2010 he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3–0 win over Hoffenheim
TSG Hoffenheim
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim is a German association football club based in Hoffenheim, a suburb of Sinsheim, Baden-Württemberg. In 2007 the club decided to adopt the use of the short form name 1899 Hoffenheim in place of the traditional TSG Hoffenheim...
. Hyypiä’s first season with Bayer Leverkusen saw his club finishing 4th overall, missing by two points the qualification round for Champions League. German sports magazine “Kicker
Kicker (sports magazine)
kicker Sportmagazin is Germany's leading sports magazine and is focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday, in Nuremberg...
” chose Hyypiä as best Bundesliga defender in 2009 and he was included Bundesliga team of the year for season 2009/10.
After Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson is a former English footballer and current head coach of West Bromwich Albion.Hodgson, who has managed sixteen different teams in eight countries, guided the Switzerland national team to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996; Switzerland had not qualified...
was appointed as the new Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
manager in August 2010 rumors began to circulate that he was determined to bring Hyypiä back to Liverpool. The transfer fell through as reportedly Hodgson could not get Hyypiä out of his contract with Bayer Leverkusen. On 25 September 2010 Hyypiä scored his third ever Bundesliga goal with a header against VfB Stuttgart in a 4–1 win.
Hyypiä made public on 6 October 2010 that post-retirement he plans to join Leverkusen as assistant manager
Manager (association football)
In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...
. On 2 May 2011 Hyypiä announced ending his football career.
International career
Hyypiä made his debut for the Finnish national football team against TunisiaTunisia national football team
The Tunisia national football team , nicknamed Les Aigles de Carthage , is the national team of Tunisia and is controlled by the Fédération Tunisienne de Football. They have qualified for four FIFA World Cups, the first one in 1978, but have yet to make it out of the first round...
on 7 November 1992 at age of 19. He went on to be a key member of Finnish national team, participating in five European Championship (EC) and four World Cup (WC) qualifiers. He became one of four Finnish national team players ever to reach milestone of 100 international appearances in a friendly against Sweden on 12 August 2009. Currently Hyypiä ranks as second among all-time most capped Finnish players, with total of 105 matches. Hyypiä preceded Jari Litmanen
Jari Litmanen
Jari Olavi Litmanen is a Finnish footballer, currently playing for HJK. He is the current vice-captain of Finland national football team, where he served as a first choice captain between 1996–2008...
as captain of the Finnish national team in 2008. His last appearance for national team was against Hungary in EC 2012 qualification group match on 12th October 2010 (1-2 home defeat).
International goals
Finland’s score first.| # | Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 October 1999 | Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... |
4–1 | Win | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying | |
| 2. | 12 October 2002 | Helsinki |
3–0 | Win | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying | |
| 3. | 2 February 2003 |  BelfastBelfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... |
1–0 | Win | Friendly | |
| 4. | 7 June 2003 | Helsinki |
3–0 | Win | UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying | |
| 5. | 11 October 2006 |  AlmatyAlmaty Almaty , also known by its former names Verny and Alma-Ata , is the former capital of Kazakhstan and the nation's largest city, with a population of 1,348,500... |
2–0 | Win | UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying | |
Retirement from football
In May 2011 Hyypiä confirmed during press conference that the 2010–11 season will be his last in professional football. Shortly after making his retirement public Hyypiä told becoming part of coaching staff for both Finnish national team and Bayer Leverkusen.Hyypiä has set up a fund to help young promising athletes of his native Finland. As part of his efforts to raise funds for the fund, he participated in the Helsinki City Marathon
Helsinki City Marathon
The Helsinki City Marathon is an annual marathon held in Helsinki, Finland. It was established in 1980 and is normally held in August. The marathon is run "In the settings of Baltic sea and open parks", and is considered to be one of the most beautiful marathons in the world by some.The 2007...
, his first ever, on 20 August 2011. His time was 3 h 56 min 09 s.
Career statistics
|-|1992
Veikkausliiga 1992
-League standings:-References:*...
||rowspan=4|MyPa
MyPa
Myllykosken Pallo –47 is a Finnish football club, based in the industrial town of Myllykoski, part of the city of Kouvola since January 2009. They currently play in the Finnish Premier Division...
||rowspan=4|Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...
||33||0||||||||||0||0||33||0
|-
|1993
Veikkausliiga 1993
-Overview:Preliminary Stage is performed in 12 teams, and higher 8 teams go into Championship Group. Lower 4 teams fought in Promotion/Relegation Group with higher 4 teams of Ykkönen.FC Jazz Pori won the championship.-Preliminary stage:-Championship group:...
||12||0||||||||||1||0||13||0
|-
|1994
Veikkausliiga 1994
-Overview:It was contested by 14 teams, and TPV Tampere won the championship.-League standings:-References:*...
||25||5||||||||||4||0||29||5
|-
|1995
Veikkausliiga 1995
-League standings:-References:*...
||26||3||||||||||4||0||30||3
|-
|1995–96
Eredivisie 1995-96
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1995/1996 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship. From this season onwards a match win was rewarded with 3 points instead of 2.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup...
||rowspan=4|Willem II Tilburg
Willem II Tilburg
Willem II , also known as Willem II Tilburg, is a football club based in Tilburg, North Brabant, Netherlands. The team was founded on 12 August 1896 as Tilburgia...
||rowspan=4|Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||14||0||0||0||colspan=2|—||0||0||14||0
|-
|1996–97
Eredivisie 1996-97
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1996/1997 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 RKC and NEC both remained in the eredivisie after winning promotion/relegation play-offs.-Relegation play-offs:...
||30||1||5||1||colspan=2|—||0||0||35||2
|-
|1997–98
Eredivisie 1997-98
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1997/1998 season was contested by 18 teams. Ajax won the championship.-League standings:1 Ajax also won the KNVB Cup, thereby taking the double. They would participate in the Champions League, just like finalists PSV. sc Heerenveen, the winner of the third place match,...
||30||0||3||0||colspan=2|—||0||0||33||0
|-
|1998–99
Eredivisie 1998-99
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 1998/1999 season was contested by 18 teams. Feyenoord won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup...
||26||2||1||0||colspan=2|—||4||0||31||2
|-
|1999–00||rowspan=10|Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
||rowspan=10|Premier League||38||2||2||0||2||0||0||0||42||2
|-
|2000–01
FA Premier League 2000-01
The FA Premier League 2000-01 season was the third season running which ended with Manchester United as champions and Arsenal as runners-up. Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager to win three successive English league titles, although three teams had achieved that feat in the past - but with...
||35||3||6||0||6||1||11||0||58||4
|-
|2001–02
FA Premier League 2001-02
The 2001–02 FA Premier League season was the tenth season of the competition. It began with a new sponsor, Barclaycard, and was titled the FA Barclaycard Premiership, replacing the previous sponsor, Carling...
||37||3||2||0||1||0||16||2||56||5
|-
|2002–03
FA Premier League 2002-03
The 2002–03 FA Premier League was the eleventh season of the Premier League, the top division in English football. The first matches were played on 17 August 2002 and the last were played on 11 May 2003...
||36||3||3||0||4||0||12||2||55||5
|-
|2003–04
FA Premier League 2003-04
The 2003–04 FA Premier League season was the twelfth season of the Premier League. In the end, Arsenal went through the season without a single defeat – only the second ever team to do so and were crowned champions once more, at the expense of Chelsea, who had spent heavily throughout the...
||38||4||4||0||1||0||8||1||51||5
|-
|2004–05
FA Premier League 2004-05
The 2004–05 season of the FA Premier League began on 14 August 2004 and ended on 15 May 2005. Arsenal were the defending champions after going unbeaten the previous season....
||32||2||1||0||1||0||15||1||49||3
|-
|2005–06
FA Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 season of the FA Premier League began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April...
||36||1||6||1||1||0||14||0||57||2
|-
|2006–07
FA Premier League 2006-07
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the fifteenth season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007....
||23||2||0||0||1||1||5||0||29||3
|-
|2007–08||27||1||4||1||0||0||13||2||44||4
|-
|2008–09||16||1||1||0||2||1||0||0||19||2
|-
|2009–10||rowspan=2|Bayer Leverkusen||rowspan=2|Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
||32||2||2||0||||||colspan=2|—||34||2
|-
|2010–11||21||1||1||0||0||0||5||0||27||1
96||8||||||||||9||0||105||8
100||3||9||1||colspan=2|—||4||0||113||4
318||22||29||2||19||3||94||8||460||35
|53||3||3||0||0||0||5||0||61||3
567||36||41||3||19||3||112||8||739||50
|-
|1992||1||0
|-
|1993||0||0
|-
|1994||2||0
|-
|1995||4||0
|-
|1996||5||0
|-
|1997||4||0
|-
|1998||7||0
|-
|1999||7||1
|-
|2000||6||0
|-
|2001||7||0
|-
|2002||6||1
|-
|2003||9||2
|-
|2004||8||0
|-
|2005||8||0
|-
|2006||7||1
|-
|2007||9||0
|-
|2008||5||0
|-
|2009||8||0
|-
|2010||2||0
|-
!Total||105||5
|}
MyPa
Winner:
- Finnish CupFinnish CupThe Finnish Cup is Finland's main national cup competition in football.This yearly competition is open for member clubs of the FA of Finland. Finnish Cup has been played since 1955.Finnish Cup winner qualifies to UEFA Europa League...
: (2) 1992, 1995
Runner-up:
- VeikkausliigaVeikkausliigaVeikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name...
: 1993, 1994, 1995
Willem II Tilburg
Runner-up- EredivisieEredivisieThe Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
: 1999
Liverpool
Winner:
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
: (2) 2001, 2006 - Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
: (2) 20012001 Football League Cup FinalThe 2001 Worthington Cup Final was a football match played between Liverpool and Birmingham City at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Sunday 25 February 2001...
, 20032003 Football League Cup FinalThe 2003 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2002–03 Football League Cup, a football tournament for teams in the Premier League and the Football League. The match was contested by Liverpool and Manchester United at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 2 March 2003... - FA Community ShieldFA Community ShieldThe Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
: (2) 20012001 FA Charity ShieldThe 2001 FA Charity Shield was the 79th FA Charity Shield, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 12 August 2001 between 2000–01 Premier League champions Manchester United and 2000–01 FA Cup winners...
, 20062006 FA Community ShieldThe 2006 FA Community Shield was a football match played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 13 August 2006 between the 2005–06 FA Premier League champions Chelsea and 2005–06 FA Cup winners Liverpool. Liverpool won the match 2–1, with goals coming from John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch... - UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
: (1) 2001 - UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: (1) 2005UEFA Champions League 2004-05The 2004–05 UEFA Champions League was the 50th season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the 13th since it was rebranded as the UEFA Champions League in 1992. The competition was won by Liverpool, who beat Milan on penalties in the final, having come back from 3–0 down... - UEFA Super Cup: (2) 20012001 UEFA Super CupThe 2001 UEFA Super Cup was a football match between German team Bayern Munich and English team Liverpool on 24 August 2001 at Stade Louis II, the annual UEFA Super Cup contested between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup. Bayern were appearing in the Super Cup for the third...
, 20052005 UEFA Super CupThe 2005 UEFA Super Cup was an association football match between Liverpool of England and CSKA Moscow of Russia on 26 August 2005 at Stade Louis II, Monaco, the annual UEFA Super Cup contested between the winners of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup. Liverpool were appearing in the Super Cup...
Runner-up:
- FA Premier LeagueFA Premier LeagueThe Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
: 2001-02, 2008-09 - FA Community ShieldFA Community ShieldThe Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
: 20022002 FA Community ShieldThe 2002 FA Community Shield was a football match played on 11 August 2002 between 2001-02 Double winners Arsenal and 2001-02 Premier League runners-up Liverpool. Arsenal won the game 1–0 in normal time. Gilberto Silva scored the only goal of the game in the 69th minute... - FIFA Club World Championship: 20052005 FIFA Club World Championship FinalThe 2005 FIFA Club World Cup Final was an association football match between São Paulo of Brazil and Liverpool of England on 18 December 2005 at the International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan. It was the final match of the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship, a competition for the winners of the primary...
- Football League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
: 2005 - UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 20072007 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 2007 UEFA Champions League Final was an association football match between A.C. Milan of Italy and Liverpool F.C. of England on 23 May 2007 at the Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece. The showpiece event was the final match of the 2006–07 season of Europe's premier cup competition, the UEFA...
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Runner-up
- Fußball-BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
: 2010–20112010–11 Fußball-BundesligaThe 2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 48th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season started on the weekend of 21 August 2010 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions and ended with the last games on 14 May 2011. The winter...
Personal awards
- Finnish Sports’ Journalists Player of the Year: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010
- Finnish Football Association Player of the Year: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010
- Finnish Sportsperson of the Year: 2001
- UEFA Team of the Year selection: 2001
- Premier League Player of the MonthPremier League Player of the MonthThe Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Premier League player each month of the season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, and announced alongside the Manager of the Month on the first or second Friday of the following month...
: November 1999 - Goal.com Central Defender of the Decade: December 2009
- Goal.com Team of the Decade selection: December 2009
- Soccer AidSoccer Aid-Event schedule:*22 May 2006 – Start of the television coverage, presented by Ant and Dec. Rest of the World defeats England in a penalty shoot-out*23 May 2006 – Practice match: England 1–0 England Legends...
Winner – 2010