Lev Yashin

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Ivanovich and the family name is Yashin.
Lev Yashin
Yashin in 1965
Personal information
Full name Lev Ivanovich Yashin
Date of birth (1929-10-22)22 October 1929
Place of birth Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Date of death 20 March 1990(1990-03-20) (aged 60)
Place of death Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1948–1950 Dynamo Moscow
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1950–1970 Dynamo Moscow 326 (0)
International career
1956 Soviet Union Olympic 6 (0)
1954–1970 Soviet Union 74 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Soviet Union
UEFA European Championship
Winner 1960 France
Runner-up 1964 Spain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1956 Melbourne Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lev Ivanovich Yashin (Russian: Лев Иванович Яшин; 22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990) was a Soviet professional footballer considered by many to have been the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game.[2] He was known for his athleticism, positioning, imposing presence in goal, and acrobatic reflex saves.[3][4][5][6] He was also deputy chairman of the Football Federation of the Soviet Union.

Yashin earned status for revolutionising the goalkeeping position by imposing his authority on the entire defence.[3][4][7] A vocal presence in goal, he shouted orders at his defenders, came off his line to intercept crosses and also ran out to meet onrushing attackers, done at a time when goalkeepers spent the 90 minutes standing in the goal waiting to be called into action.[3][7][8] His performances made an indelible impression on a global audience at the 1958 World Cup, the first to be broadcast internationally. He dressed head to toe in apparent black (in truth very dark blue),[9] thus earning his nicknames the "Black Spider" or the "Black Panther",[10] which enhanced his popularity.[3][7]

Yashin appeared in three World Cups from 1958 to 1966 and was an unused squad member in 1970. In 2002 was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team. In 1994, he was chosen for the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, and in 1998 was chosen as a member of the World Team of the 20th Century. According to FIFA, Yashin saved over 150 penalty kicks in professional football — more than any other goalkeeper.[11][12] He also kept over 270 clean sheets in his career, winning a gold medal at the 1956 Olympic football tournament,[13] and the 1960 European Championships.[12][14]

In 1963, Yashin received the Ballon d'Or, the only goalkeeper ever to receive the award.[3] He was additionally named posthumously to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team in 2020, a greatest all-time XI, and was voted the best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS.[15] He was also named to the IFFHS All-time Men's Dream Team in 2021. He was named by France Football as the greatest goalkeeper of all time in 2020.[16] In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Russia by the Russian Football Union as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.[17] In 2019, France Football established the Yashin Trophy for the best performing goalkeeper, and is awarded alongside the Ballon D'Or.[18]

  1. ^ "Лев Иванович Яшин" (in Russian). academydinamo.ru. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Yashin, Lev Ivanovich.". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e ""Yashin, the impregnable Spider"". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. FIFA. Retrieved 23 November 2013
  4. ^ a b Guillem Balagué (5 February 2010). "Casillas names his top ten No1s". UEFA.org. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Euro 1960 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference l'Equipe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c Lomas, Mark (29 April 2010) ""Lev Yashin: Russian Revolutionary"". Archived from the original on 22 May 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) ESPN. Retrieved 21 May 2014
  8. ^ Grahame L. Jones (15 May 2010). "Top World Cup goalkeepers". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "The Black Panther: The greatest goalkeeper of all time". BBC. 23 June 2018.
  11. ^ ""Panther" gegen "Spinne"" ["Panther" vs. "Spider"]. FIFA (in German). 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016.
  12. ^ a b Jennings, Patrick. "Yashin". BBC News. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Lev Yashin". Olympedia. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  14. ^ Flint, Andrew (23 August 2017). "Lev Yashin: the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or". These Football Times. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  15. ^ Stokkermans, Karel. "IFFHS' Century Elections". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  16. ^ Torrance, Sam (15 February 2023). "France Football ranked the 10 greatest goalkeepers of all-time - Gianluigi Buffon 4th". GiveMeSport. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Golden Players take centre stage". UEFA. 29 November 2003. Archived from the original on 12 March 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  18. ^ "Ballon d'Or 2019: Yachine Trophy: the candidates for the award". AS. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2019.