Sami Hyypia Signed Montage (16 x 12)
£55.00
About the Player
Sami Hyypia is one of the finest centre-backs ever to wear a red shirt. The towering Finn’s consistent performances through the Houllier and Benitez eras earned him a place among Europe’s top defenders.
Hyypia’s decade-long contribution to the British game was recognised in his homeland, where he was crowned Footballer of the Year seven times (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008). It’s hard to believe he cost Liverpool just £2.5million from Dutch outfit Willem II in May 1999.
Making his Reds debut against Sheffield Wednesday on August 7, 1999, Hyypia quickly formed a watertight partnership with Stephane Henchoz, providing the foundation for a historic treble in 2000-01. The centre-half wore the captain’s armband through much of this momentous campaign in the absence of the injured Jamie Redknapp. He jointly lifted both the UEFA and FA Cups.
Following the departure of Redknapp in April 2002, Gerard Houllier handed his trusty defender the captaincy on a permanent basis, though he’d be replaced by the emerging Steven Gerrard in October 2003.
With the arrival of new boss Rafa Benitez in 2004 came numerous personnel changes, though it was clear Hyypia was going nowhere.
However, he did have a new central-defensive partner in Jamie Carragher, who was at last given a regular slot in his preferred position. Within 12 months they were regarded as one of the most formidable pairings on the continent following Liverpool’s Champions League triumph in the Ataturk.
Hyypia scored one of the most memorable goals en route to Istanbul, an unstoppable volley to open the scoring against Juve in the quarter-finals. Incredibly, he played every minute of 57 consecutive European games for the Reds from November 2001 to February 2006.
The big Finn announced that the 2008-09 campaign would be his last at Anfield after agreeing a two-year deal with German side Bayer Leverkusen.
He came on as a late substitute wearing the captain’s armband during the season finale against Spurs for his 464th and last appearance. Earlier a ‘Sami’ mosaic was held aloft by the Kop, and at the final whistle the No.4 broke down in tears.
History will undoubtedly judge Hyypia to be one of the club’s shrewdest pieces of business. His collection of winner’s medals is in double figures and in 2006 fans voted him 38th in Liverpoolfc.tv’s 100 Players Who Shook The Kop series.
About the product
Sami Hyypia has signed a limited number of these 16×12″ montage prints. All profits go to our charitable causes. Thank you for supporting the 23 Foundation
If you would like to order products from our shop, but are currently located in one if the following countries: AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, THAILAND, HONG KONG, MALAYSIA, ISRAEL. Please contact Mike at mike@jamiecarragher.org to arrange your order.
Why buy from the 23 Foundation?
100% of the profits raised from your sale will be used to directly impact the lives of sick or disadvantaged children and young people in a positive way, or will be used to support community or not-for-profit organisations who work with children or young people.
With the support of people supporting the 23 Foundation we now support children and young people in various capacities within the UK and across the rest of the world too.
The small print
– All signed memorabilia will be supplied with a 23 Foundation Certificate Of Authentication
– Shipping charges may apply when purchasing this product, and if so will be applied at the checkout stage.
– On completion of your purchase a receipt will be provided by email.
– Please note that we cannot send frames to Africa, South America, The Middle East and some parts of Asia. In our experience items tend to go missing and in some cases are not traceable.
– The 23 Foundation are not VAT registered.
