Less than two years ago Sami Hyypia seemed on course for a glorious conversion from Liverpool defensive legend to leading European manager.
Hyypia's Bayer Leverkusen had just won 1-0 at Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund to go second in the Bundesliga.
Now, as Klopp endeavours to rekindle the trophy-laden era Hyypia was a pillar of at Anfield, the towering Finn is trying to restore his credibility at FC Zurich in Switzerland.
It has been a horrible fall, first at Leverkusen where Hyypia finished his playing career and where he ended up in sole charge for ten months before a run of one win in nine games cost him his job.
It got worse with Albion, much worse. Hyypia resigned last December, just five months after taking charge. They were in the Championship relegation zone and had won only once in 18 matches.
Speaking for the first time about his nightmare at the Amex and pursuit of redemption, Hyypia is not looking for scapegoats or deflecting blame.
That is not his style. He accepts responsibility for Albion coming up short where it matters most for any manager - on the pitch.
He resigned following a 1-1 draw at Wolves which encapsulated the misery. His team led, had survived a red card for Bruno and yet the long wait for a win was extended by a last-gasp equaliser.
Hyypia said: "It didn't work out at Brighton but the results are the sum of many things. If a few of those things aren't there it's very difficult to get results.
"The results were not there and I take my responsibility. When you take a job as manager or head coach you know that if the results are not there then everyone is looking at you.
"All the players were behind me, so it wasn't an easy decision to make, but I felt I needed to take my responsibility."
The responsibility was not his alone. Hyypia's vast experience and success as a player contrasted sharply with his limited experience as a manager.
He inherited an awkward set of circumstances. Oscar Garcia, frustrated by what he regarded as an unwieldy recruitment structure and budget limitations, had walked out two months earlier after a convincing exit from the play-offs at the hands of Derby County.
Star striker Leo Ulloa was Leicester-bound. Hyypia had been away from the English game for several years and lacked intimate knowledge of the Championship so was, to a large extent, dependent on head of football David Burke in particular in trying to rebuild the squad.
Burke was axed on Christmas Eve, 48 hours after Hyypia resigned, his pivotal contribution in securing Category One Academy status at the new training complex at Lancing overshadowed by a disastrous summer transfer window.
On top of all that, Hyypia was unfortunate with injuries. He could never, for example, call upon Dale Stephens, so influential now in central midfield under Chris Hughton. But he is not seeking excuses. "Sometimes things go for you, sometimes you have some downs and some ups," Hyypia said. "You just have to concentrate on trying to do your best and that's what I tried to do, even when you have some difficulties.
"If the luck is not on your side then it can go wrong. I wouldn't say it was only about luck. That's not the only reason we didn't get results."
Hyypia harbours no grudges. He went back to watch a game at the Amex once the dust had settled on his departure.
"I still have contact with people at the club, like Paul Barber," he said. "I don't have any bad feelings about my time there, no negative thoughts. That's football, anything can happen, life goes on.
"Of course, I would have liked to have been successful there but you are not going to get everything you want. You have to accept bad periods as well and move forward.
"I'm happy that they are where they are. It's a good club and Chris Hughton has done well to get the players that he wanted there."
Hyypia's family had settled in Sussex, so he remained in the area until the summer.
Successive failures with Leverkusen and Albion prompted a certain amount of self-analysis by the 42-year-old father-of-two.
"Of course you start to doubt that you are doing it right," he admitted. "After I left Leverkusen and Brighton I had a period of time analysing things and what kind of things I could do better.
"But then I got my self-confidence back and I was ready to work again."
He took over at FC Zurich at the end of August on a two-year contract and the option of a further year, with them struggling at the wrong end of the Swiss Super League. "From April, May, I was all ready to come back," he said. "I had a good time with the family but I was itching to get back down to work.
"I had quite an open mind. Of course, England would have been okay but German-speaking countries were not out of it because I speak German.
"Switzerland, Austria, Germany, those kind of countries, I thought they would be good places to try for something interesting.
"In the summer nothing interesting came along so I thought I would maybe have to wait until two or three months after the season started. This option came quicker than I thought it would.
"I talked to the owners of the club and everything I heard was good.
"Zurich were in the bottom three but in the last ten years they've won the championship a few times. Basel are the most powerful club, ahead of the other teamns financially. They can buy the best players. They have been in the Champions League many times now.
"Normally Basel would win it every year without doing something very wrong.
"But Zurich are second in line and I would like to take the club there. First we need to start winning games."
Zurich have risen to fifth following a win, three draws and two defeats under Hyypia. On Sunday they were thumped 5-1 at second-placed Thun, tomorrow they host leaders St Gallen.
A year ago Hyypia's Albion were in the middle of the debilitating sequence which prompted a parting of the ways, held at home by Rotherham.
They are far apart now but with the same recovery aim as the German seen as the new messiah by the Kop who Hyypia once outwitted.
Original article
Hyypia's Bayer Leverkusen had just won 1-0 at Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund to go second in the Bundesliga.
Now, as Klopp endeavours to rekindle the trophy-laden era Hyypia was a pillar of at Anfield, the towering Finn is trying to restore his credibility at FC Zurich in Switzerland.
It has been a horrible fall, first at Leverkusen where Hyypia finished his playing career and where he ended up in sole charge for ten months before a run of one win in nine games cost him his job.
It got worse with Albion, much worse. Hyypia resigned last December, just five months after taking charge. They were in the Championship relegation zone and had won only once in 18 matches.
Speaking for the first time about his nightmare at the Amex and pursuit of redemption, Hyypia is not looking for scapegoats or deflecting blame.
That is not his style. He accepts responsibility for Albion coming up short where it matters most for any manager - on the pitch.
He resigned following a 1-1 draw at Wolves which encapsulated the misery. His team led, had survived a red card for Bruno and yet the long wait for a win was extended by a last-gasp equaliser.
Hyypia said: "It didn't work out at Brighton but the results are the sum of many things. If a few of those things aren't there it's very difficult to get results.
"The results were not there and I take my responsibility. When you take a job as manager or head coach you know that if the results are not there then everyone is looking at you.
"All the players were behind me, so it wasn't an easy decision to make, but I felt I needed to take my responsibility."
The responsibility was not his alone. Hyypia's vast experience and success as a player contrasted sharply with his limited experience as a manager.
He inherited an awkward set of circumstances. Oscar Garcia, frustrated by what he regarded as an unwieldy recruitment structure and budget limitations, had walked out two months earlier after a convincing exit from the play-offs at the hands of Derby County.
Star striker Leo Ulloa was Leicester-bound. Hyypia had been away from the English game for several years and lacked intimate knowledge of the Championship so was, to a large extent, dependent on head of football David Burke in particular in trying to rebuild the squad.
Burke was axed on Christmas Eve, 48 hours after Hyypia resigned, his pivotal contribution in securing Category One Academy status at the new training complex at Lancing overshadowed by a disastrous summer transfer window.
On top of all that, Hyypia was unfortunate with injuries. He could never, for example, call upon Dale Stephens, so influential now in central midfield under Chris Hughton. But he is not seeking excuses. "Sometimes things go for you, sometimes you have some downs and some ups," Hyypia said. "You just have to concentrate on trying to do your best and that's what I tried to do, even when you have some difficulties.
"If the luck is not on your side then it can go wrong. I wouldn't say it was only about luck. That's not the only reason we didn't get results."
Hyypia harbours no grudges. He went back to watch a game at the Amex once the dust had settled on his departure.
"I still have contact with people at the club, like Paul Barber," he said. "I don't have any bad feelings about my time there, no negative thoughts. That's football, anything can happen, life goes on.
"Of course, I would have liked to have been successful there but you are not going to get everything you want. You have to accept bad periods as well and move forward.
"I'm happy that they are where they are. It's a good club and Chris Hughton has done well to get the players that he wanted there."
Hyypia's family had settled in Sussex, so he remained in the area until the summer.
Successive failures with Leverkusen and Albion prompted a certain amount of self-analysis by the 42-year-old father-of-two.
"Of course you start to doubt that you are doing it right," he admitted. "After I left Leverkusen and Brighton I had a period of time analysing things and what kind of things I could do better.
"But then I got my self-confidence back and I was ready to work again."
He took over at FC Zurich at the end of August on a two-year contract and the option of a further year, with them struggling at the wrong end of the Swiss Super League. "From April, May, I was all ready to come back," he said. "I had a good time with the family but I was itching to get back down to work.
"I had quite an open mind. Of course, England would have been okay but German-speaking countries were not out of it because I speak German.
"Switzerland, Austria, Germany, those kind of countries, I thought they would be good places to try for something interesting.
"In the summer nothing interesting came along so I thought I would maybe have to wait until two or three months after the season started. This option came quicker than I thought it would.
"I talked to the owners of the club and everything I heard was good.
"Zurich were in the bottom three but in the last ten years they've won the championship a few times. Basel are the most powerful club, ahead of the other teamns financially. They can buy the best players. They have been in the Champions League many times now.
"Normally Basel would win it every year without doing something very wrong.
"But Zurich are second in line and I would like to take the club there. First we need to start winning games."
Zurich have risen to fifth following a win, three draws and two defeats under Hyypia. On Sunday they were thumped 5-1 at second-placed Thun, tomorrow they host leaders St Gallen.
A year ago Hyypia's Albion were in the middle of the debilitating sequence which prompted a parting of the ways, held at home by Rotherham.
They are far apart now but with the same recovery aim as the German seen as the new messiah by the Kop who Hyypia once outwitted.
Original article