'A double role': Liverpool legend claims Roy Hodgson tried to get him back at Anfield as a player-coach in 2010

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I said to Roy that I was at Bayer Leverkusen now and I needed to speak to them about it.”“I spoke with the directors of Leverkusen, told them Roy called me and asked if I would go back to Liverpool, and what was their view about that? I knew that they respected me as a person and I knew that they would be totally honest with their answer.

Somehow I thought that they would think about me as well a little bit in this situation.“But they said, ‘Look, we are very happy that you are here and we are not willing to let you go.’ So, that was it for me. I respected their opinion.“I told Roy and explained that Leverkusen wanted me to stay, and that was it, that was the end of the discussion.

He respected my opinion and my decision.”Hyypia could have ended up as Liverpool managerAlthough Hyypia is a genuine Liverpool legend, there is no guarantee that his return would have turned the tide for Hodgson in terms of fan opinion.The Finnish icon was 37 at the time, and had already lost his place in the starting XI some years before. Although Hyypia enjoyed some success with his former club, his management career never recovered from a poor spell at Brighton in 2014.Had Hodgson been successful in this approach, he could have brought Hyypia back home, where opportunities to manage Liverpool may have presented themselves.