Sami Hyypiä

Sami Hyypia is a retired Finnish central defender and a manager. Many club executives were fighting to get the glorious footballer. His height and stamina made him irreplaceable for any team’s defence. He is famous for his headers and non-standard displays. He was on the UEFA Team of the Year selection in 2001.

He played ten seasons for Liverpool FC – almost his entire career. After Daniel Agger – his main ‘position rival’ – joined the club, Sami almost never appeared in the main squad. On May 4, 2009 Sami penned a two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen. After a certain period of time Liverpool FC management offered him a 1-year coaching contract. However, the footballer chose to play in Germany where he was irreplaceable in the main squad. In 2011, Hyypia finished his playing career and stayed with Bayer Leverkusen as head coach. In 2014 he was sacked and later took charge of Brighton and Hove Albion.