Liverpool legend Sami Hyypia has been appointed as manager of Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen on an interim basis.
The towering former Liverpool defender and Leverkusen under-19 coach Sascha Lewandowski will take over the senior side until the end of the season after Robin Dutt was given the boot following Leverkusen’s defeat to Freiburg yesterday, a result which has left Leverkusen struggling to achieve a place in Europe next season.
Hyypia hung up his boots last season with the intention of moving into coaching and he could well end up staying in charge of Leverkusen with the club saying in a statement that Hyypia, as team chief, and Lewandowski, as a coach, will remain in charge until “at least” the end of the current campaign.
Commenting on his new role, the blonde bombshell, who looks just a little like Ivan Drago from Rocky IV said: “I know the team. I believe in this team. We want to show an insecure team … the way to get back to success.”
It’s not a half bad team Hyypia is taking over either. Leverkusen finished runners-up in the Bundesliga last season and reached the knockout stages of the Champions League this season before being eliminated by Barcelona in the last 16.
If he is to stamp his authority, Hyypia will have to cut out the carry on in the first leg of that game which saw two Leverkusen players more concerned with getting Lionel Messi’s shirt afterwards that what had happened on the pitch.
Hyypia is still a revered figure at Anfield because of a ten year spell at the club from 1999-2009 which reaped a Champions League title, a UEFA Cup title, two FA Cups and two League Cups.
Hyypia was always the sort of character that seemed destined to go into management at some stage and with King Kenny currently experiencing some difficulties on Merseyside, could Anfield be the next step in the Finn’s managerial career?
It may be a tad early to say yet, but it certainly can’t be ruled out.
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