Trivia Quiz 194

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Lev Ivanovich Yashin (Russian: Лев Ива́нович Я́шин) (October 22, 1929 – March 20, 1990) was a Russian Soviet football goalkeeper, known for his superior athleticism in goal, imposing stature (he was 1.89 m, 6 ft 3 in) and amazing reflex saves. He was voted the best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS.

Yashin was born in Moscow into a family of industrial workers. At twelve years of age the Second World War forced him to turn to factory work to aid in the war effort. He was sent to work in a military factory in Moscow, where he played for its football team. It is was there that he was spotted and invited to join the Dynamo Moscow youth team. Yashin’s debut for Dynamo came in 1950 in a friendly match. It was not the debut he would have hoped for, as he conceded a soft goal scored straight from a clearance by the opposing keeper. That year he featured in only two league games, and did not appear in a senior match again until 1953. But he remained determined, and stayed at Dinamo in the reserves waiting for another opportunity. Yashin also played goalie for the Dynamo ice hockey team during those early years of trying to break into the senior squad. He managed to won a USSR ice hockey cup in 1953 and was third in the USSR hockey championship as goalkeeper.

He spent his entire professional football career with Dynamo Moscow, from 1949 to 1971, winning the USSR football championship five times and the USSR Cup three times. Yashin’s club team-mate, rival and mentor was Alexei ‘Tiger’ Khomich, the keeper of the Soviet national team, who had become famous for his role in Dynamo Moscow’s British tour.

In 1954, Yashin was finally called up to the national team, and would go on to gather 78 caps. With the national team he won the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 1960 European Championship. He also played in three World Cup (1958, 1962 and 1966). Always ready to give advice to his comrades, he even made his fourth trip to the World Cup finals in 1970 as the third-choice back-up and an aide. Yashin is credited for four clean sheets out of 13 games played in the World Cup finals. In 1971 in Moscow he played his last match for Dynamo Moscow, a testimonial game against European stars.

One of his best performances was the 1963 FA Centenary match when he appeared in the 'Rest of the World XI' against England at Wembley Stadium and made a number of breathtaking and almost unbelievable saves. Known all over the world as the "Black Spider" for his distinctive all-black outfit, and because it seemed like he had eight arms to save almost everything. But to his fans he was always the fearless “Black Panther”. He often played wearing a cloth cap of burnt-brick color.

Yashin was always managing the defensive game of his team, often so fiercely that even his wife accused him of yelling too much on the pitch. He rarely captained his teams, as the custom of appointing a goalkeeper as captain is relatively new.

Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper ever to win the European Footballer of the Year Award (1963). He is also believed to have stoped around 150 penalty kicks during his career; far more than any other goalkeeper in history. When asked what his secret was, he would reply that the trick was "to have a smoke to calm your nerves, then toss back a strong drink to tone your muscles

For his outstanding service to the people and for his country he was awarded Order of Lenin (1967), the second highest award of the USSR. Lev Yashin's FIFA testimonial match was held at the Lenin Stadium in Moscow with 100,000 fans attending, and a host of stars and superstars, including Pelé, Eusébio and Franz Beckenbauer. For some time he coached minor league and youth football teams in Finland. A Bronze statue of Lev Yashin was erected at the Dinamo Stadium in Moscow. In 2000, FIFA polls placed Yashin in the "Century XI" team, and also named him 'World - Keeper of the Century' .

Lev Yashin died in 1990 of complications caused by an amputation of one of his legs following a knee injury in 1986.

He is remembered as a brilliant keeper, a true sportsman, and an innovator of the game. He is one of the first goalkeepers to begin a practice of punching balls out in difficult situations instead of trying to catch them. Other novel practices he developed were the quick throw of the ball to begin a counterattack; coming out of the penalty area to anticipate danger, and the command and organization of the defenders—all practices so common in the modern game of the goalkeepers. In 1994 FIFA established the Lev Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper of the World Cup finals. Yashin is still considered, by many, to be the best keeper in the history of football.