Sami Hyypia: Ten Years On and Still Going Strong

By the end of this season, the seven-time Finnish Player of the Year would have reached an impressive ten years for Liverpool. If he starts his sixth game in Liverpool's last seven against Stoke at the weekend, he would have amassed 700 career games—with 460 of that substantial figure coming as a Liverpool player.

With the January transfer window wide open, it has been reported that several clubs from various parts of England and Europe have been hounding Benitez for the chance to land the ever dependable centre back.

Bought for a paltry £2.5 million in 1999, Liverpool could demand a transfer fee for the inform defender that would easily top their original purchase price—not a bad return on ten years of outstanding service.

However, Rafa Benitez is adamant that Sami Hyypia is still a major part of Liverpool's title winning blueprint and won't be leaving during the window—and with his contract due to expire in the summer, many are calling for it to be extended for at least another year.

Even at the age of 35, the Finn has proven he has what it takes in the Premier League and is hoping his recent form—which has seen Daniel Agger warming the bench in the last few games—is enough to be included in the squad for the knockout phase of Liverpool's Champions League campaign in 2009.

The ex-Liverpool captain was surprisingly left out of the original squad for the group stages of the competition, but with the injured Phillipp Degan still occupying a place and Hyypia's current vein of form, there may be reason to include him for the rest of the European competition.

However, the emergence of the young Emilliano Insua in the left back position could offer the Liverpool manager a tough decision to make before he has to submit his final selection by  February first.

The young Argentine has started in Liverpool's last four games and has kept out the newly acquired Italian international, Andrea Dossena.

But now that Insua is jetting off to Venezuala for the under-20 South American championships and wont be returning until a week into February, the door is open for Andrea Dossena and the Brazilian Fabio Aurelio to claim the left-back position as their own.

The Liverpool manager would clearly have known that Insua would be heading off for a month and It could be seen as a master stroke by the Spaniard to keep Dossena and Aurelio sidelined whilst Insua proved his worth over the last four matches.

It would have kept the pair hungry for first team football and knowing that when they get their chance, they would have to play out of their skins in order to hold on to the position when the Argentinian returns from international duty.

With Liverpool still very much in the hunt for three major trophies, the importance of Sami Hyypia and Emilliano Insua could prove vital by the time the season reaches its climax in May.

One thing is for certain—this is one Liverpool supporter with the utmost respect for one of Liverpool's best ever players and most loved professionals.

Since its creation in 1888, the Football League has seen 23 separate winners of the coveted title of best club in the country. Click here to see who has come out on top in the battle that is known as the North vs. the South.