[lfc-news] Sami Hyypia interview - Official Site

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Official LFC Website, 13 Aug 2004
SPURS V LIVERPOOL: SAMI HYYPIA INTERVIEW
By Paul Eaton 13 August 2004

Finnish star Sami Hyypia talks to us about pre-season, the new manager, our
opening match at Spurs and his thoughts on the forthcoming campaign.

~ Liverpoolfc.tv: How has pre-season gone?

Sami Hyypia: As always, it has been very hard. We've done a lot of work
with the ball which has been enjoyable, but at the same time the training
has been very tough and demanding.
The new manager has shown he has a vision for the club and he is passing on
his ideas to us on what he wants us to do. We are working hard to take on
board what he is saying to ensure we operate as a unit on the pitch. He's
brought a lot of new ideas with him and we are learning every day.

~ Looking back over the summer, was it a big shock when Gerard Houllier left?

He brought me to the club so of course it came as a shock. It's not nice
when anyone leaves a club. From last season the feeling was that something
had to change and the club decided on a particular course of action.
He's not the first manager to leave a club and he won't be the last. It's
never a good thing when it happens but life goes on and we have to move
forward.

~ Now there's a new manager, are the expectations back at Anfield?

There should always be expectations at Liverpool. They're always there and
you can't hide from them. If there weren't high expectations before the
start of a new season then there would be something wrong. It's our job as
players at Liverpool to make sure we do everything we can to bring success
here.

~ What are your early impressions of new signing Djibril Cisse?

It's still early days for him here but already we can see he has a lot of
quality. He's definitely very quick and he certainly has ability. It's
going to take time for us to get used to his style of play. The longer we
play together then the more we'll know what sort of service he likes. He's
made a good start to his career with us because he was sharp in the
pre-season games. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come.

~ And what about Josemi?

He's settled in well, we just need to teach him some English! When there
were rumours he was coming here someone said to me he's a Spanish Jamie
Carragher. He's a very good defender and a good tackler. I remember our
pre-season match against Roma when he went in with a crunching challenge on
one of their players. I think he's certainly got the quality to do well here.

~ Do you think the style of play is going to change under the new manager?

I don't know. People are saying they hope we'll be more attacking but you
don't win titles by simply attacking. You have to have a good base in the
defence as well. The balance has to be right. If you go forward all the
time then you'll be exposed at the back and give the opposition chances to
score goals. The balance of the team is the thing we are working on because
that is so important.

~ Your first game is at Tottenham. What are your pre-match thoughts?

It's never an easy game at White Hart Lane and I remember we lost there
last season. They have a new manager as well so there'll be a new feeling
in their club, just like there is in ours. Every team wants to do well on
the first day of the season and we'll definitely be going there to win.
Obviously you'd prefer a home game to start the season, but we have the
ability to go down there and get a good result.

~ What would be a good season for Liverpool this year?

I think we have to set our sights high but the important thing is to make
progress. Last season wasn't as good as we hoped it would be and it's vital
we do a lot better this time. The fans are expecting us to improve and we
demand that from ourselves. All I can say to them is that we're all
optimistic about what we can achieve over the coming months and we'll
certainly be doing our best in every game we play.


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