Full Name
Lev Yashin
Position
Goalkeeper
Born
22 Oct 1929
Died
20 Mar 1990
Country
Soviet Union
Clubs
Dynamo Moscow (Soviet Union)
Professional Career
1949-1971
International Caps/Goals
78 caps
Honours
5 Soviet championship, 3 Soviet Cup (Dynamo Moscow)
1956 Olympics Football Gold (Soviet Union)
1960 UEFA European Championship (Soviet Union)
1963 Ballon d’Or
2000 FIFA World Keeper of the Century
Regarded as the best goalkeeper in the history of modern football, Lev Yashin, nicknamed “Black Spider”, was a born leader who was not afraid to shout at his defenders when organising his defensive line. Blessed with extremely good reflexes and athleticism, Yashin was said to have saved more than 150 penalty kicks in his career, a record that still stands till this day.
Spending his entire football career with Dynamo Moscow, Yashin had won numerous club honours, but it were his achievements with Soviet Union that caught the attention of the world. He led unfanciful Soviet Union to glory in the European Championship in 1960, and had also played in the 1958, 1962 and 1966 World Cups. As the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or, his Soviet Union team managed to clinch fourth place in the 1966 World Cup, the best finishing in the nation’s football history.
Yashin died of complications after a leg amputation in 1990, at an age of 60.
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