MARK LAWRENSON: Liverpool FC's Sami Hyypia head and shoulders above the rest

May 26 2009 Liverpool Daily Post

SUNDAY was all about Sami Hyypia – and that’s probably the only time in his 10-yerar Anfield career you could say that about the man.

And that says it all when you consider the selfless, unspectacular and consistent way he has gone about his business in the past decade.

Everyone’s reaction confirmed that – and the one that I thought was most significant was Pepe Reina’s. It sums up the impact Hyypia has made on Merseyside.

It was as if the Spanish goalkeeper was thinking about when he first came to England, and he was struggling to settle in.

Hyypia probably looked after him and saw him through many of those early games to help him find his feet.

Sami has played a major part in making Reina the player he is today and he was only too happy to acknowledge that by hoisting him on to his shoulders at the end of the victory over Tottenham that secured the runners-up spot.

Popular with players and popular with managers too.

For Rafael Benitez to come out and say that there will be coaching role open to Hyypia in the future after his playing days with Bayer Leverkusen end just shows the esteem he is held in.