Lev Yashin: The world’s greatest goalkeeper ever

Lev Yashin: The world’s greatest goalkeeper ever

By Laolu Olugbenga 

When you hear the term ‘greatest goalkeeper of all time’, a lot of names pop into mind. You have Dino Zoff, Gordon Banks, Sepp Maier, Oliver Kahn and many others. This ‘keepers took goal keeping to another level, setting a benchmark for the men between the sticks. But no one did it better than Lev Yashin.

Born Lev Ivanovich Yashin on October 22, 1929, he was a Soviet Union-Russian goalkeeper who spent his entire career at Dynamo Moscow - from 1950 to 1970. Lev is iconized to this day for stamping his authority on goal keeping, shouting orders at his defence, coming off his line to intercept crosses and running to meet onrushing attackers, a trait the current world’s best goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer of the Manchester United possesses.

Nicknamed the Black Panther (not to be confused with the late Mozambique-born Portuguese soccer legend Eusebio) because of his head to toe black dressing style, Lev made his debut in 1950 in a friendly match. He conceded a soft goal scored by the opposing goalkeeper, and did not make a senior appearance until 1953. From then on he made 356 appearances in 20 years, winning the USSR Football Championship five times and the USSR Cup three times.

Yashin won 78 caps with the Soviet Union and played in three World Cups, making his name in the 1958 edition and preventing a rout against Brazil as his country lost 2-0. He led them to their best showing at the World Cup Finals, finishing fourth in the 1966 World Cup tournament. The Soviet Union also won the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 1960 European Championship.

Lev was known for his athleticism, imposing stature and reflex saves which prevented loads of goals. He made over 151 penalty saves in his career, more than any other goalkeeper and also managed to keep an impressive 270 career clean sheets, a record most goalkeepers fantasize about. He remains the only goalkeeper to have won the FIFA Ballon D’or, picking it up in 1963.

One of his best performances was in the FA Centenary match. He was selected in the Rest of the World XI against England at Wembley Stadium. He made a number of crazy and unbelievable saves. He was then given the nickname “The Black Spider” worldwide. But to his fans he was known as the “Black Panther”. He organized his team so fiercely that his wife accused him of yelling too much on the pitch. He, alongside some goalkeepers, introduced the art of punching the balls out in tough positions instead of trying to catch them. He also began the trend of throwing the ball to start counter attacks… something practised by goalkeepers today, especially Neuer. When asked what his secret was, he replied: “To have a smoke to calm your nerves, then toss back a strong drink to tone your muscles.”

His testimonial drew a crowd of 100, 000 fans as well as football stars like Pele, Eusebio and Franz Beckanbaeur. After retiring, he remained with Dynamo Moscow. In 1986, he had one of his legs amputated after contracting thrombophlebitis while in Budapest. Sadly, Yashin died on March 20, 1990, despite a surgical intervention done to save his life. He was given a well deserved state funeral as a Russian Master of Sport.

Honours: In 1994, FIFA established the Lev Yashin Award for the Best Goalkeeper at the World Cup. He was named goalkeeper in the World team of the 20th century, FIFA World Cup all time dream team and the FIFA Dream team.