Nordic Football News

This article is in the new ‘Oh Sami Sami’ brochure, published to celebrate Sami Hyypiä’s ten years at Liverpool.

When Finns talk about their greatest footballers, Sami Hyypiä is always near the top of the list. Although he has won European trophies during his time at Liverpool, Finland have not reached the same heights. Hyypiä’s international career has taken place in a very different context to his games at club level, offering a different challenge and bringing out a different side to Hyypiä.

Finland have never played at a major international tournament, a situation that Hyypiä hopes to remedy by qualifying for the World Cup in 2010. Finland face an uphill struggle, after a 3-0 defeat in Moscow and a 3-3 draw against Germany when they took the lead three times but surrendered it on each occasion.

“It’s possible, but it’s not going to be easy,” says Finland manager Stuart Baxter. “We have a lot of tough games to come, we’ve had a lot of tough games already, and we have to ensure as much as possible goes our way in the remaining games if Sami is to achieve his dream in South Africa.”

Disappointments like the Germany match have littered Sami’s Finland career, with one match in particular standing out for Finland-watchers.

“I have a quite a bad memory when it comes to memorising dates; birthdays and so on,” says Ari Virtanen, football correspondent for Finland’s Channel Four News. “But there is one date I can’t forget. And that is the 11th of October, 1997.”

On that day Finland faced Hungary at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, starting the match one point behind their opponents, who occupied second place in Group 3. The runners-up would advance to the play-offs, and Sami was back in the national side four days after his 24th birthday, after missing the previous three internationals against Azerbaijan, Norway and Switzerland through injury. All was going well after Antti Sumiala had put Finland 1-0 up on 62 minutes, but things went badly wrong when Hungary threw everything forward at a corner on 91 minutes.

“Sami rose high in the air, but lost the aerial battle against Gabor Halmai,” recalls Virtanen. “The ball fell to the feet of Mika-Matti Paatelainen. He kicked the ball towards the penalty spot where the Hungarian player and Finnish defender Harri Ylönen were fighting for the ball. Both of them fell down.”

“Sami Hyypiä ran towards the loose ball. He was facing his own goal and tried to clear the ball into touch. Unfortunately Hyypiä kicked the ball straight against Ylönen who was lying on the ground and the ball took a wild curve towards Finland’s goal. Sami Mahlio was trying to stop the ball going in, but he could not change the direction of the ball.”

“From Mahlio’s attempted save the ball hit goalkeeper Teuvo Moilanen’s leg and rolled slowly towards the goal. Five consecutive Finnish touches before the ball found its way home.”

Such self-destruction is often regarded as typically Finnish, at least in football, but Sami found a positive to take from the catastrophe. Finland’s supporter culture has not been as advanced as in other countries, and at the Hungary match the crowd went straight from docile silence to rage at their team’s misfortune.

“Sami thinks that after that experience Finnish football fans have cheered for their team instead of being just numb spectators,” says Virtanen. Since the Hungary game Finland’s fan group has grown to the extent that they now have one whole end of the Olympic Stadium for home matches, where their active support is more focused. This is massively appreciated by the players and especially by Sami, who is lucky enough to play in front of one of the most famous crowds in football.

Such experiences have stood Sami in good stead with successive coaches, and Baxter is a huge admirer of his erstwhile captain.

“Sami shows a lot of the qualities common among Finnish people,” says Baxter. “He’s strong physically and mentally, and he’s a fantastic leader. In a way he’s also become less Finnish after his ten years at Liverpool, as he’s now much more tactically adept than he was, and is an excellent role model for Finnish players who want to improve.”

Hyypiä’s character is hugely admired among his peers and coaches in Finland. Tampere United’s Sporting Director Jarkko Wiss was in the Finland squad right up until his retirement in 2007, and is full of respect for Hyypiä’s leadership.

“Sami has always been kind, polite, and a real leader in the dressing room,” recalls Wiss. “He doesn’t speak much, but when he does speak, everyone listens. When he needs to stick up for the players, he is good at doing that too.”

Wiss also coaches Finland’s under-16 team, and is well aware of the importance of 7-time Finnish footballer of the year Hyypiä as a role model.

“It’s massive for the players, to see someone playing for such a big club, and still playing for Finland,” continues Wiss. “For my generation Mixu Paatelainen was a role model, and we wanted to be at the clubs he played for, but now kids look at Sami and think they can reach the very top of world football. He’s won almost everything, and that raises expectations for the next lads coming through the ranks.”

Sami’s character is what defines him, at club level and on the international scene. Whoever you ask in Finland, they will say the same kind of thing: Sami is someone you can count on, the very personification of Finnish ‘sisu’, or guts.

“He is totally reliable and totally professional,” said Baxter. “For a coach, he is the perfect player to have. You never have to worry about whether he wants to do what you’re telling him, whether he feels like doing it or wants to do it, he just does it. In international football that’s vital, as you have to ask players to execute a plan and Sami will always do that to the best of his ability.”

With such impeccable leadership credentials a coaching career is one of many options open to Sami. Having coached in Japan, South Africa, Sweden, England, Portugal and Norway, Baxter seems the perfect man to ask about Sami’s potential.

“I think he’ll make a hell of a coach. He’s contemplated everything that’s happened with Finland, analysed it, internalised it, and when the time comes for him to think about coaching he’ll have a lot of experience to draw on.”

First there is a World Cup qualification campaign to conclude, and then maybe more qualifiers for the European Championships in 2012. Time will tell whether Sami fulfils his ambition this time, next time, or maybe even the time after that, but one thing is for sure: a man with his determination will not be denied easily.