Liverpool defender came close to staying for an extra two years due to Champions League goal record…
Liverpool centre back Sami Hyypia has revealed that he almost stayed at the club for an extra two years as he chased a Champions League goal scoring record.
Reports in the Daily Mail carry quotes from the Finn, who spent 10 years at Anfield where he made 464 appearances between 1999 and 2009 and scored 35 goals.
Hyypia, who now manages Brighton, says his knack of scoring in Europe’s elite club competition almost convinced him to stay at Liverpool until 2011 – having already scored in three Champions League quarter-finals.
The defender said: “I scored in 2002 against Leverkusen, 2005 against Juventus and 2008 against Arsenal. There were three years between each one.
“It’s funny because I thought: ‘Shall I continue playing until 2011 as I might hit the net again in the quarter-final of the Champions League that year.”
As it happens, Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League at the end of the 2010-11 season and ended up playing in the Europa League.
Hyypia scored in Liverpool’s run to winning the competition in 2005 with a thumping left foot volley against Juventus and looks back fondly on his time at the club fondly.
He added: “Sometimes when you think back to those days and what has happened, those kinds of stats come up. At the time you don’t think about it but when you look back at your career those things pop up and they are good memories.”