Sami Hyypia 460
RED carded as Manchester United slumped to a humiliating defeat in British football’s biggest game, Nemanja Vidic will find little sympathy among those of a Liverpool persuasion.
However, one man in grey on Saturday at least could empathise with the Serbian’s ordeal at Old Trafford.
In April 2003, Sami Hyypia suffered the same fate, dismissed in the fourth minute for a foul on Ruud van Nistelrooy as Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool were routed 4-0.
But almost six years on, the big Finn was immense in the Anfield outfit’s biggest victory over their bitter rivals at this ground in 73 years.
His outstanding team-mates Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will dominate the headlines this morning, of course, but Hyypia’s performance deserves special mention.
An 11th-hour replacement for Alvaro Arbeloa, who tweaked a hamstring in the warm-up, the former Liverpool captain didn’t put a foot wrong all afternoon.
United’s fleet-footed strike partnership of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez will have been encouraged by the sight of the 35-year-old emerging from the tunnel rather than Arbeloa.
Both players, however, were subdued by Hyypia’s brilliance.
The years may have accounted for his pace but there are few centre-backs in the division that can read a game better.
Time and again, the Finn would step out of defence to thwart another Red Devils’ attack, with dynamic holding midfielders Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva ensuring his ageing legs were never exposed.
One sublime touch, when controlling a long ball over the top of Liverpool’s defence with Rooney in close attendance, had the travelling fans – and Match of the Day’s Alan Hansen – purring with admiration. Even ‘Jockey’ would have been proud of that one.
Each transfer window sees Hyypia linked with a move away from the club, with Fulham and Sunderland among his suitors in January.
But on this evidence the centre-back should again be invited by Rafael Benitez to extend his Liverpool career – during which he has won every trophy barring the Premier League – beyond its 10th year.
