Lev Yashin
Lev Ivanovich Yashin was a Soviet professional footballer. Won the 1956 Summer Olympics as well as the first European championship, the 1960 European Nations’ Cup. In 1963, he received the Ballon d’Or, the only goalkeeper ever to receive the award. He also played in three World Cups, in 1958, 1962 and 1966.
About Lev Yashin in brief
Lev Ivanovich Yashin was a Soviet professional footballer. He was known for his athleticism, positioning, stature, bravery, imposing presence in goal, and acrobatic reflex saves. His performances made an indelible impression on a global audience at the 1958 World Cup, the first to be broadcast internationally. He won the 1956 Summer Olympics as well as the first European championship, the 1960 European Nations’ Cup. In 1963, he received the Ballon d’Or, the only goalkeeper ever to receive the award. He also played in three World Cups, in 1958, 1962 and 1966. He spent his entire professional football career with Dynamo Moscow, from 1950 to 1970, winning the USSR football championship five times and the Soviet Cup three times. He saved over 150 penalty kicks in professional football – more than any other goalkeeper. According to FIFA, he also kept over 270 clean sheets in his career, winning a gold medal at the 1956 Olympic football tournament, and the1960 European Championships. 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.
In 2002 he was selected on the FIFA Dream Team of World Cups of the history of the sport. He died in a car crash in Moscow in 2006. He is buried in the suburb of Yevpatori. He had a son, Yevgeny, who was a footballer and ice hockey player, and a daughter, Nadezhda, who played for Dynamo Moscow in the women’s team. He has also been a deputy chairman of the Football Federation of the Soviet Union, and served as the vice-chairman of the Russian Football Union. He worked as a factory worker in Moscow during the Second World War. His nickname was the ‘Black Spider’, which enhanced his popularity. He dressed head to toe in apparent black, thus earning his nickname the ‘Black Spider’ He was also nicknamed ‘The Black Panther’ by his Dynamo Moscow team-mates. He played for the Dynamo ice hockey team during those early years of trying to break into the senior squad. In 1954 he was called up to the Soviet national team, and would go on to gather 78 caps. He made his debut in a friendly match in 1950 in a match against Dynamo Moscow.
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