After a short break, we bring you another article that focuses on the best goalkeepers of all time. This time, we will head east, to the now-defunct Soviet Union, to take a look at the career of perhaps the greatest goalkeeper in history – Lev Yashin.
Late Start
A Moscow native, born in October 1929, started playing football unusually late. As a teenager, he worked in war factories, where during breaks he played football with colleagues on a patch of grass behind the factory. It was there that he was noticed by people from Dynamo Moscow. He was 18 years old at the time. Lev went through the youth team and only played for the men's team for the first time in 1950, at the age of 20. However, his first match did not go well at all, so he got another chance to show his skills only 3 years later. In the meantime, the Russian goalkeeper also engaged in other sports, especially hockey. He had been playing since 1945, also as a goalkeeper. Even though he had more opportunities in the hockey goal, he ultimately decided to prioritize football.
"What kind of goalkeeper isn't frustrated by a conceded goal? He must experience torment! And if that's not the case, it means the end. Regardless of what he experienced before, he is not worthy of the future."
Lev Yashin
The Black Spider
The turning point came in the 1953/54 season. At that time, Yashin was pushed forward by his team rival Valter Sanaya, who entered the season as the clear number one, but during the year lost his position between the posts, allowing Lev to step in. Thanks to his outstanding performances, he secured a spot in the starting lineup for the next season, forcing Sanaya to transfer. Perhaps it was the transfer of his biggest life rival that contributed to even better goalkeeping performances. During this period, Lev earned the nickname "The Black Spider" due to his aggression, speed, reflexes, and anticipation. Dynamo had an incredible season, mainly thanks to two key players – Vladimir Ilyin, who scored 11 league goals and won the golden boot, and Lev Yashin, who conceded only 20 competitive goals, allowing Moscow Dynamo to boast the best defense of the year. Lev thus received his first title as the best goalkeeper in the entire Soviet Union.
The crowned king
However, he made his mark in the world chronicles only in 1958 when he went to the World Cup in Sweden. Here, in the group stage, he averted a humiliating defeat in an incredibly tense match against the Brazilian canaries, as the number of goals conceded stopped at two. The Soviet Union eventually made it to the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by the home team. Two years later, he traveled with the national team to France to participate in the very first European Championship. The Soviet Union sailed through the tournament like a hot knife through butter, and Lev Yashin became the very first European champion. In 1962, at the World Cup in Chile, he again reached the quarter-finals with the USSR, where they were once again eliminated by the home team. This championship was not very successful for Lev, as he let in several unnecessary goals in the match against Colombia. Among them was the historically only goal scored directly from a corner kick in World Cup history. Despite these setbacks, he continued to thrive in the club environment. With Dynamo, he managed to win the league in 1955, 1957, 1959, and 1963. In the latter season, he managed to win the Ballon d'Or, making Lev the only goalkeeper to hold this title to this day. In 1966, he fought for another World Cup title in England, reaching the semi-finals, where the Soviets were eliminated by West Germany. He ended his professional career in 1970, but he didn't completely leave the world of football; he spent the rest of his life in the management of Dynamo Moscow, where he worked until his death in 1990.
