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Hyypia to shadow England manager Hodgson

Sami Hyypia watched his side lose 4-2 at Manchester United in September © PA Photos

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Bayer Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypia will use the international break to shadow England manager Roy Hodgson, Bild reports.

Hyypia has enjoyed a fine start to his coaching career. After earning his coaching credentials in a summer course in Finland, the former Liverpool defender took sole charge of Leverkusen for this season, having spent the previous campaign working alongside Sascha Lewandowski, who has now returned to the club's youth system.

He has excelled in the solo role, taking 18 from a possible 21 points in his first seven games in the Bundesliga - the best start in the club's history - but he remains keen to further his education.

Bild reports he will spend the upcoming international break with the England team, learning from Hodgson, who had worked with Hyypia when taking charge of the Finnish national side between 2006 and 2007.

England face vital World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland at Wembley as they look to book their place in Brazil.

Before then, Leverkusen face two difficult games, with Real Sociedad visiting the BayArena in the Champions League on Wednesday before they host Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

Hyypia knows that the home tie with Sociedad is likely to be crucial to Leverkusen's chances of progressing from Group A after the 4-2 defeat at Manchester United in their opening match.

"Against Real Sociedad you can also lose," Hyypia said. "Spanish teams play good football. It won't be easy on Wednesday. This game is very important if we want to stay in Champions League. Every player knows that."

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