Sami Hyypiä’s long journey to winning the 2005 Champions League title began on the edge of a pitch in Kuusankoski, southern Finland. And it started in fine style: this was where the substitutes in his mum’s squad would, kindly, change his nappies while she tried to win matches during the 1974/75 season, playing as an amateur goalkeeper.  His journey gained momentum in the early 1980s. His dad Jouko, also a footballer, was a diehard Manchester United fan at the time; as a deliberate act of rebellion, Hyypiä Jr decided to support Liverpool instead.

Then things really began to gather pace when Hyypiä made his first senior appearance, in 1989. From Finnish football to the Eredivisie with Willem II in 1995, then the big move: signing on the dotted line for Liverpool in May 1999.

By 2004/05, having by now had the honour of captaining the side and with five trophies under his belt, Hyypiä was a firm favourite with the Anfield faithful. This was only helped by the fact that he scored a peach of a volley against Juventus in the quarter-finals; then he was part of the side that edged through to Istanbul as a result of Luis García’s ‘ghost goal’ against Chelsea in the semis. And next? Being selected by Rafa Benítez to face AC Milan in the final.  

However, before that historic victory on 25 May 2005 came a visit to a door that in Istanbul would have been marked ‘Tuvalet’; in English, ‘toilet’. “I always felt excitement in my belly,” admits a rueful Hyypiä. “I had to go to the toilet many times before every game, even friendlies. But then I knew: ‘Today I can give everything when the tension starts.’ In a Champions League final there are maybe 500 million people watching all around the world, but you don’t think about that. You only concentrate on: ‘I have my team-mates here, we have a game plan, my role is this.’ And I just try to feel that role, do my best. That’s it.”

By half-time, of course, just about 500 million people thought that Sami’s dream, plus Liverpool’s game plan, were down the pan. Instead, something verging on the inexplicable happened. “I think every football fan remembers that we were 3-0 down to Milan at half-time,” says Hyypiä. “Italian teams, when they lead 1-0, the game is almost always finished. But we produced something incredible in the second half.”

At the break it felt like as comprehensive a rout as you can get. Conceding in the first minute to a Paolo Maldini goal, Harry Kewell off injured, a brace from Hernán Crespo in a five-minute blitz before half-time and Steve Finnan not fit to continue for the second half. “It’s very difficult to say what goes on in your mind,” explains Hyypiä. “We were quite calm after the first goal; that didn’t throw us off our game plan. But Milan were a great side. Going 3-0 down and heading into the dressing room… I think if somebody said to me now that they believed then that we could come back, they would be lying. We always say, ‘You have to believe in something for it to happen.’ But even if you don’t believe in something, and you put in enough effort, it can happen!”