Me too.
And I can't imagine a 'drinker' having such a long and successful career in this modern era.
Hopefully @Dee can clarify.
Sami Hyypia steps into management
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And I can't imagine a 'drinker' having such a long and successful career in this modern era.
Hopefully @Dee can clarify.
The only thing I remember hearing at the time was a suggestion that GH made the change as a sop to keep Stevie happy and settled. I certainly don't recall anything about Sami and booze. It wouldn't surprise me if, superb professional that he was/is, he said that stuff about the local lads, but I wonder if that represented his true feelings on the subject.
Don't think it did, as I think I remember him saying it did come as a bit of a shock, but that he'd just get on with it regardless. Top man.
I don't think Sami was a big drinker. There were never any "shock horror" stories in the papers about his drinking exploits. When the management took the captaincy off Hyypia and handed it to Gerrard, it was not through any dissatisfaction with Sami but they wanted Stevie to be "captain fantastic."
Much more competitive league?
Some people on here are a bit delusional about the Premier league...
Just tell me the teams that played the CL final last season.
Red Maradona, for once, was right, 3rd place Leverkusen is a lot better than Swansea' 11th
Worth noting though that he's working in a different capacity to that of a manager in England. Rudi Voller has done a pretty good job as Leverkusen's Director of Sport too.
The Premier league is not "much more competitive" than the Bundesliga..
Bayer Leverkusen is a much better team than Swansea
That's got nothing to do with it though. I think your'e misunderstanding the point here.
No Im not.
Finishing 11th with Swansea is not a better achievement than finishing 3rd with Leverkusen..far from it. Especially as the premier league is not a more competitive league than the Bundesliga far from it again.
Finishing with Swansea's squad in 2011-2012 in 11th fresh off promotion is more impressive than finishing 3rd with Leverkusen's squad in 2012-2013.
Between Schurrle, Kiessling, Sam, Rolfes, and Bender, that squad has a ton of talent.
Fucking hell....
I don't think he had the right license to be a head coach, therefore Lewandowski was there. But Sami was the real head coach.
[article=http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=2007316.html]With Bayer 04 Leverkusen showing no sign of letting up in the Bundesliga, coach Sami Hyypiä spoke on his 40th birthday about the values that underpin his character.
"It's certainly true that there are more laid-back people in Finland and I have always been like that," said Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypiä as he shed light on the perception of his nation's ice-cool approach to management.
"I can also raise my voice and vent my anger when necessary," added the 40-year-old, who nonetheless has plenty of reason to be cheerful on his birthday. Indeed, the Werkself followed up a 2-1 defeat of Real Sociedad de Fútbol on UEFA Champions League matchday two by drawing 1-1 with FC Bayern München on Saturday – leaving them just a solitary point shy of the Bundesliga summit in third.
In terms of points acquired at this stage of the season, Hyypiä is the most successful coach in the club's 109-year history – ahead of the likes of Jupp Heynckes, Christoph Daum and Klaus Toppmöller. The former Liverpool FC centre-back is not about to fall victim to complacency, however. "We've only played eight games so I can hardly be the best Leverkusen coach of all time," he said. "Obviously I'm pleased with what we've done so far, but there's still a long way to go until the end of the season and anything can happen.
"We have to focus on what we can affect like training and pre-match preparations. I'm very happy with what I have and where I am. We have a great club and environment in which to work. You can't plan too far ahead in this job. I arrived in this position very quickly and I know it can be taken away from me just as fast, but I'm not worrying about that."
If Leverkusen continue to make significant strides, then Hyypiä will be part of a prodigious era in the club's history so long as he stays beyond his existing contract that expires in 2015. Should Hyypiä steer his team to their first silverware since winning the German Cup in 1993, the level-headed tactician may even demonstrate a wild side. "If there's something to celebrate, I'll be joining in. I'm only human," he added.[/article]
"It's certainly true that there are more laid-back people in Finland and I have always been like that," said Bayer 04 Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypiä as he shed light on the perception of his nation's ice-cool approach to management.
"I can also raise my voice and vent my anger when necessary," added the 40-year-old, who nonetheless has plenty of reason to be cheerful on his birthday. Indeed, the Werkself followed up a 2-1 defeat of Real Sociedad de Fútbol on UEFA Champions League matchday two by drawing 1-1 with FC Bayern München on Saturday – leaving them just a solitary point shy of the Bundesliga summit in third.
In terms of points acquired at this stage of the season, Hyypiä is the most successful coach in the club's 109-year history – ahead of the likes of Jupp Heynckes, Christoph Daum and Klaus Toppmöller. The former Liverpool FC centre-back is not about to fall victim to complacency, however. "We've only played eight games so I can hardly be the best Leverkusen coach of all time," he said. "Obviously I'm pleased with what we've done so far, but there's still a long way to go until the end of the season and anything can happen.
"We have to focus on what we can affect like training and pre-match preparations. I'm very happy with what I have and where I am. We have a great club and environment in which to work. You can't plan too far ahead in this job. I arrived in this position very quickly and I know it can be taken away from me just as fast, but I'm not worrying about that."
If Leverkusen continue to make significant strides, then Hyypiä will be part of a prodigious era in the club's history so long as he stays beyond his existing contract that expires in 2015. Should Hyypiä steer his team to their first silverware since winning the German Cup in 1993, the level-headed tactician may even demonstrate a wild side. "If there's something to celebrate, I'll be joining in. I'm only human," he added.[/article]
[article=http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1584721?&cc=4716]Bayer Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypia has returned from a satisfying trip to England, where he shadowed coach Roy Hodgson during the international break.
Hyypia, 40, used the final round of World Cup qualifiers to shadow his former Finland boss during the lead-up to England’s World Cup qualifier against Montenegro last Friday.
"To shadow Hodgson was a very interesting experience for me," the former Liverpool captain told the press upon his return to Leverkusen.
"I got to know and have valued him since my time as a Finland player under him and have been delighted about this opportunity.
"I was especially excited about the operations in England’s training facilities. Certainly those experiences will influence my work and further me as a coach.
"To see England play at Wembley stadium is something out of the ordinary for every football lover. I have not been there since the reopening."
When the domestic calendar resumes in Germany on Friday, three points for Leverkusen at Hoffenheim could lift Die Werkself to the top of the table for the first time in almost four years, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund not playing until the weekend.
"It’s always nice to top the table as a player," Hyypia told Bild. "But what matters is the standing after the season. The Hoffenheim game is nothing special for me. I don’t care where we are in the standings. The fans can be delighted, but not me."
"Satisfaction is foolish, because that’s when you lose your concentration. I hope that’s the way the players also see it. We’ll look at the standings in May. I am fully focused on the match. And after that we’ll see if we can be satisfied with our work."[/article]
Hyypia, 40, used the final round of World Cup qualifiers to shadow his former Finland boss during the lead-up to England’s World Cup qualifier against Montenegro last Friday.
"To shadow Hodgson was a very interesting experience for me," the former Liverpool captain told the press upon his return to Leverkusen.
"I got to know and have valued him since my time as a Finland player under him and have been delighted about this opportunity.
"I was especially excited about the operations in England’s training facilities. Certainly those experiences will influence my work and further me as a coach.
"To see England play at Wembley stadium is something out of the ordinary for every football lover. I have not been there since the reopening."
When the domestic calendar resumes in Germany on Friday, three points for Leverkusen at Hoffenheim could lift Die Werkself to the top of the table for the first time in almost four years, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund not playing until the weekend.
"It’s always nice to top the table as a player," Hyypia told Bild. "But what matters is the standing after the season. The Hoffenheim game is nothing special for me. I don’t care where we are in the standings. The fans can be delighted, but not me."
"Satisfaction is foolish, because that’s when you lose your concentration. I hope that’s the way the players also see it. We’ll look at the standings in May. I am fully focused on the match. And after that we’ll see if we can be satisfied with our work."[/article]
Really? Why not?
I think Hyypia deserves more credit than he seems to be given (just because of Leverkusen's reputation). Just take a look at the defence.
In central defence, Wollscheid came from Nurnberg at 22 yrs old while Toprak joined from Freiburg as a 21 yr old. Both coincidentally were from midtable sides (which slighly overperformed having been touted as relegation candidates) and had just 1.5 seasons of top flight football when they signed for Leverkusen. Spahic at 33 looks like a shrewd experienced signing to supplement these 2 young ones.
Hilbert, once highly rated at Stuttgart and then bizarrely moved to Besiktas returned to Germany this season on a free transfer. In Donati, they've signed a promising player from Inter, who has been honing his skills in Serie B for the past 2 seasons.
Boenisch who was part of the infamously porous Werder Bremen squad joined as a free agent last Nov as cover to Kadlec and Schwaab but has since earned an extension and played a key role. The last (and only) time he played more than 20 league games a season was 5 season ago!
One player who has come of age is Sidney Sam, who has already matched his seasonal best for goals scored (7) at Leverkusen and earned a callup to the Germany team this May (was subject of interest to Nigeria too, where his Dad was born).
Of cos, there's the core of Kiessling , Rofles, Reinartz, Castro and Bender as well as Schurrle's replacement in Son Heung Min but look at their league finishes over the past 5 years:
12/13 3rd
11/12 5th
10/11 2nd
09/10 4th
08/09 9th
That 10/11 squad had Hyppia, Ballack and Vidal in it.
In central defence, Wollscheid came from Nurnberg at 22 yrs old while Toprak joined from Freiburg as a 21 yr old. Both coincidentally were from midtable sides (which slighly overperformed having been touted as relegation candidates) and had just 1.5 seasons of top flight football when they signed for Leverkusen. Spahic at 33 looks like a shrewd experienced signing to supplement these 2 young ones.
Hilbert, once highly rated at Stuttgart and then bizarrely moved to Besiktas returned to Germany this season on a free transfer. In Donati, they've signed a promising player from Inter, who has been honing his skills in Serie B for the past 2 seasons.
Boenisch who was part of the infamously porous Werder Bremen squad joined as a free agent last Nov as cover to Kadlec and Schwaab but has since earned an extension and played a key role. The last (and only) time he played more than 20 league games a season was 5 season ago!
One player who has come of age is Sidney Sam, who has already matched his seasonal best for goals scored (7) at Leverkusen and earned a callup to the Germany team this May (was subject of interest to Nigeria too, where his Dad was born).
Of cos, there's the core of Kiessling , Rofles, Reinartz, Castro and Bender as well as Schurrle's replacement in Son Heung Min but look at their league finishes over the past 5 years:
12/13 3rd
11/12 5th
10/11 2nd
09/10 4th
08/09 9th
That 10/11 squad had Hyppia, Ballack and Vidal in it.
sami = future lfc manager.
Read Binnys post before mine.
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