football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Ykkönen ''Ykkönen'' (Finnish language, Finnish for 'Number One'; , previously I divisioona) is the third highest level of the Finnish football league system (after the Veikkausliiga and Ykkösliiga), managed by the Football Association of Finland. Until ...

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,2004–05 Champions League campaign, where his defensive partnership with Jamie Carragher helped them win in the final. During his ten years in Merseyside, he became a fan favourite and remains a popular figure at the club. From 2009 to 2011, Hyypiä played for German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

, where he retired as a player in 2011. Hyypiä was a prominent figure in the Finland national team and was selected as the Finnish Sports' Journalists and Football Association

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

numerous times. He made his debut in 1992 and, with 105 caps before retiring in 2010, is the country's third most capped Finnish player after Jari Litmanen and

Teemu Pukki Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Veikkausliiga club HJK and the Finland national team. Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior level on 23 June ...

. From the 2012–13 season, he returned to Bayer Leverkusen as its full team manager. After two successful seasons in the Bundesliga, he returned to English football in 2014 for a brief spell as manager of now

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

. From August 2015 to May 2016, he was manager of Swiss club

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. Hyypiä was named in the Finnish Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.

Early life

Hyypiä was born in

Porvoo Porvoo (; ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located on the south coast of the country, on the Gulf of Finland. Porvoo lies in the eastern part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Porvoo is approximately , while the Porvoo sub-region, sub-re ...

and raised in

Kuusankoski Kuusankoski is a neighbourhood of city of Kouvola, former industrial town and List of former municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland, located in the region of Kymenlaakso in the province of Southern Finland. The population of Kuusan ...

, Finland, north-east of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, the son of Irma and Jouko Hyypiä. Hyypiä's parents were both footballers – his father Jouko played for Finnish team Pallo Peikot, while his mother played as an amateur goalkeeper. Although the young Sami played

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, one of the more popular sports in Finland, his parents' influence was important in him choosing a career in football; he later commented, "I guess there was only one career option for me."

Club career

Early career

Hyypiä started his career with Pallo-Peikot, where he played every position except his final position of defender and KuMu, before joining

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

club MyPa for the 1992 season. He won the

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...

with MyPa in 1992, when Jari Litmanen was one of his teammates, and again in 1995. In 1995, at the age of 22, he went for a trial at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, his first taste of English football. Hyypiä said: "They ewcastlecertainly helped my career. I had a two-week trial in 1995 under

Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regard ...

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

Later that year, Hyypiä joined Dutch club Willem II and spent four years with the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

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

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, 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

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, 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…" Fourteen years on, Hyypiä himself told the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

that joining Liverpool was a dream come true. In the 2000–01 season, Hyypiä shared the captaincy of Liverpool with

Robbie Fowler Robert Bernard Fowler (born 9 April 1975) is an English football coach and former player. He most recently managed Saudi First Division League side Al-Qadsiah. As a player, he was a striker, and is the ninth-highest goalscorer in the histor ...

while

Jamie Redknapp Jamie Frank Redknapp (born 25 June 1973) is an English former professional footballer who was active from 1989 until 2005. He is a pundit at Sky Sports and an editorial sports columnist at the ''Daily Mail''. A technically skillful and creativ ...

, 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 The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

,

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

and

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. He also went on to claim a "treble" of three consecutive FAF Finnish Footballer of the Year awards from 2001 to 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 George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, the only red of his club career. " uudVan 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 Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Rafael Benítez Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player. He was most recently the manager of La Liga club RC Celta de Vigo, Celta Vigo. Beníte ...

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 2004–05 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 Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

until 2008. Hyypia

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 Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in 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 United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, 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 League Cup against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

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 () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The ...

. He quickly returned on the pitch to play against

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

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 was a good role model for young defenders such as Martin Škrtel and

Daniel Agger Daniel Munthe Agger (; born 12 December 1984) is a Danish professional football coach and former player who is the assistant manager of the Danish national football team. As a player, he played as a centre-back for Brøndby and Liverpool and ca ...

. The 2008–09 season marked the defender's tenth season at the club. On 22 August 2008, Premier League newcomers

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

offered £2.5 million for Hyypiä, but Liverpool rejected the offer. On 2 March 2008, with his appearance against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, Hyypiä made it into the top 20 Liverpool player appearances of all time. Hyypiä was voted in 19th place in

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...

' "Top 50 Premier League Foreign Players", 45th in ''

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is an association football magazine published by British company Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4–4–2. Future acquired the ...

''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 James Rush (born 20 October 1961) is a Welsh former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh playe ...

noted: "He's got to be up there with the best signings the club has ever made." In September 2008, Hyypiä was not included in the 25-man Liverpool squad for the group stages of the Champions League, as new

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

regulations meant that clubs had to include at least eight home-grown players in their squad. Hyypiafarewell

On 4 May 2009, it was announced that Hyypiä had signed a two-year contract with German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

. 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 concluded. Hyypiä played his last match for Liverpool at Anfield against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

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 Heurelho da Silva Gomes (born 15 February 1981) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He played for Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur and Watfor ...

. After the match ended, an emotional Hyypiä received a standing ovation from Liverpool fans and his teammates held him aloft. Hyypiä made 464 appearances and scored 35 goals, winning ten trophies in the ten years he was at Liverpool.

Bayer Leverkusen

Hyypiä moved to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen during summer 2009, making his official debut on 8 August against

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

. On 24 January 2010, he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 3–0 win over 1899 Hoffenheim. Hyypiä's first season with Bayer Leverkusen saw his club finishing fourth overall, missing by two points the qualification round for the 2010–11 Champions League campaign. German sports magazine '' kicker'' chose Hyypiä as best Bundesliga defender in 2009, and he was included Bundesliga Team of the Year for 2009–10. After

Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstad in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to t ...

was appointed as the new Liverpool manager in August 2010, rumours began to circulate that he was determined to bring Hyypiä back to Liverpool. However, the transfer fell through as reportedly Hodgson could not get Hyypiä out of his contract with Leverkusen. On 25 September 2010, Hyypiä scored his third ever Bundesliga goal with a header against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

in a 4–1 win. Hyypiä made public on 6 October 2010 that, post-retirement, he planned to join Leverkusen as assistant manager. On 2 May 2011, he announced his retirement from playing professional football. Hyypiä appeared in more than 560 top-flight matches in Finland, the Netherlands, England and Germany.

International career

Hyypiä was capped 27 times by the Finland national under-21 team. He made his debut for the senior team against

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

on 7 November 1992 at the age of 19. He went on to be a key member of the Finnish squad, participating in five

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

and four

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

qualifiers. In a friendly against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

on 12 August 2009, he became one of four Finland national team players ever to reach milestone of 100 international appearances. Hyypiä succeeded Jari Litmanen as captain of the Finland national team in 2008. He was given a straight red card in his penultimate match for a 36th-minute foul on Viorel Frunza as Finland lost 2–0 away to

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

in a qualifier. His last appearance for national team was against

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in a

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

qualifier on 12 October 2010, a 2–1 home defeat. With a total of 105 matches, Hyypiä ranks in the summer of 2023 as fourth among all-time most capped Finnish players; only Jari Litmanen,

Teemu Pukki Teemu Eino Antero Pukki (born 29 March 1990) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Veikkausliiga club HJK and the Finland national team. Pukki began his career with KTP and made his debut on senior level on 23 June ...

and Jonatan Johannson have been capped more.

Coaching career

Bayer Leverkusen

Hyypiä became part of the coaching staff for both Finland national team and Bayer Leverkusen. He started a coaching formation at the

Football Association of Finland The Football Association of Finland (, SPL; ) is the governing body of football (soccer), football and futsal in Finland. It was founded in Helsinki on 19 May 1907. The SPL organises the Finland national football team, men's and Finland women's ...

. In October 2011, Hyypiä was in Leverkusen for six weeks as a trainee with the club's then-head coach, Robin Dutt. On 1 April 2012, Hyypiä and under-19 coach Sascha Lewandowski were named as caretaker coaches of Leverkusen after the sacking of Dutt. On 15 May 2012, Hyypiä was confirmed as team manager and Lewandowski as head coach of Bayer Leverkusen until the summer of 2015. In an unusual managerial set-up, both were equally responsible for leading Bayer Leverkusen: as Lewandowski had the training licence, he had to be at post-match press conferences and took care of the training sessions. Meanwhile, Hyypiä watched them, intervened with personal talks and was at the pre-game press conferences. Despite his imperfect grasp of the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

, Hyypiä addressed the team before matches. This system proved successful: in the middle of the 2012–13 season, Leverkusen was second in the Bundesliga, were the only side to beat

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

at home and qualified for the next round in the Champions League, and the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

. Bayer Leverkusen ended the 2012–13 season in third place behind the champions Bayern and runners-up

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

. Hyypiä became the sole head coach after Lewandowski went back to work with the youth development department. Hyypiä's first training session as the sole head coach occurred on 24 June 2013. Bayer Leverkusen ended the 2013–14 season in fourth place, behind Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

. On 5 April 2014, Hyypiä was sacked by Bayer Leverkusen with immediate effect after the club lost to

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

the night before.

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 6 June 2014, Hyypiä was officially named manager of

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

club

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

, signing a three-year contract. His reign as Brighton boss started with two successive 1–0 defeats, before tasting victory in his third game in charge. Results were poor, and on 22 December 2014, with the team in the relegation zone, Hyypiä offered his resignation as manager after a 1–1 draw at

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

; Brighton chairman Tony Bloom announced that Hyypiä's resignation was reluctantly accepted. Hyypiä's decision to step down came after his side only managed one win in their previous 18 games, with the club securing six victories in his 26 in charge, three of which came in cup ties.

Zürich

On 21 August 2015, Hyypiä was officially announced as the manager of the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

club

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. On 12 May 2016, Hyypiä was sacked as coach of Zürich after he had lost a vote of no confidence in the team. He left the club in last place with three rounds before the end of the season; Zürich were ultimately relegated to the Swiss second division, the

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League (known as the Dieci Challenge League for sponsorship reasons) is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the wi ...

.

Haka

After taking a break from the game, he joined Finnish side

Haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

in 2020 as assistant manager, but left after just three months.

Personal life

In 2002, Hyypiä released an autobiography, ''From Voikkaa to the Premiership''. Hyypiä was married to Susanna between 2007 and 2022, when the couple divorced. He has two sons from his first marriage. Off the pitch, he is generally a private person and, although his ex-wife had been occasionally seen at his matches, their children rarely appear in public. He lived with his family near

Pulheim Pulheim (; Ripuarian: ''Pullem'') is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since the 1920s, a large substation of the ''Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk AG'' ( RWE) is located at Pulheim. It is the end of t ...

near

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and had an English second home because of his time as manager of Brighton & Hove Albion. Since 2021, Hyypiä has been dating Finnish racing driver Emma Kimiläinen. Hyypiä has set up a fund to help young promising athletes of his native Finland. As part of his efforts to raise funds, he participated in the Helsinki City Marathon, his first ever, on 20 August 2011, completing the course in a time of 3:56:09. Hyypiä was named in the Finnish Football Hall of Fame in 2015, and in the Finnish Sports Hall of Fame on 11 January 2024.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Finland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Hyypiä goal''.

Managerial statistics

*1.Sami Hyypiä and Sascha Lewandowski were both in-charge of the first team. *2.Sascha Lewandowski left the first team to go back to work with the youth team. Hyypiä's first training session was on 12 March 2013.

Honours

MyPa *

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...

: 1992,

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Liverpool *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

: 2000–01, 2005–06 *

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

: 2000–01, 2002–03; runner-up 2004–05 * FA Charity/Community Shield:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

*

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

: 2004–05; runner-up 2006–07 *

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

: 2000–01 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

*

FIFA Club World Championship The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contes ...

runner-up:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Finland *

Nordic Football Championship The Nordic Football Championship (, , , , commonly abbreviated NM or PM) was an international association football, football competition contested by the list of men's national football (soccer) teams, men's national football teams of the Nordic c ...

: 2000–01 Individual *

UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...

: 2001 * ESM Team of the Year: 2000–01 * Liverpool Player of the Season: 2001–02 * Finnish Sportsperson of the Year: 2001 *

Premier League Player of the Month The Premier League Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League player each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to 1 ...

: November 1999 *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1999–2000 Premier League, 2001–02 Premier League *Finnish Sports Hall of Fame * Finnish Footballer of the Year: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 *'' kicker''

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

Team of the Season: 2009–10 * UEFA awards 100 caps: 2011 * Finnish Football Hall of Fame inductee: 2015

References

External links

Profile
at the Liverpool F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hyypia, Sami 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Porvoo Footballers from Uusimaa Finnish men's footballers Men's association football central defenders Myllykosken Pallo −47 players Willem II Tilburg players Liverpool F.C. players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Veikkausliiga players Eredivisie players Premier League players Bundesliga players UEFA Europa League–winning players UEFA Champions League–winning players Finland men's under-21 international footballers Finland men's international footballers FIFA Men's Century Club Finnish expatriate men's footballers Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Finnish expatriate sportspeople in England Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Finnish football managers Bayer 04 Leverkusen managers Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. managers FC Zürich managers Bundesliga managers English Football League managers Swiss Super League managers Finnish expatriate football managers Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Germany Expatriate football managers in England Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Finnish autobiographers Kuusankosken Kumu players Finnish Football Hall of Fame inductees

Early life

Club career

Early career

Willem II

Liverpool

Bayer Leverkusen

International career

Coaching career

Bayer Leverkusen

Brighton & Hove Albion

Zürich

Haka

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

See also

References

External links