Hyypiä happy to stay to Anfield

Sami Hyypiä has agreed a new one-year contract with Liverpool FC that will keep him at Anfield until the summer of 2009.

Decade-long stay
The 34-year-old Finnish centre-back's previous contract was due to expire at the end of the season but he has now opted to extend his stay at Liverpool to ten years, saying: "I am very happy to have agreed a new deal. This is a great club with fantastic supporters, so I'm delighted." Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez added: "This is great news for the club – Sami has a lot to offer. He's a fantastic professional who is an example to all young footballers. He understands the game and is clever. All these things mean he can help other players. He has shown this year how important he is to us on the pitch and he can continue to do that next season."

European glory
Hyypiä moved to England from Willem II in 1999 and has since made 440 appearances for the Merseyside team, where he was a key component in the UEFA Champions League-winning side of 2005 and the victorious UEFA Cup team four years earlier. He played every minute of 57 consecutive European games for the club from November 2001 to February 2006 and, having been rested for Saturday's Premier League match against Arsenal FC, is likely to return to the starting lineup for Tuesday's UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg against the same opponents.