Lev Yashin: A living legend

 

Russian football history has been home to incredible athletes. In today’s blog post, Alexander Sabadash features one of these legends – Lev Yashin, the Black Panther of football.

Image source: bbc.co.uk

Lev Ivanovich Yashin is a former football player from the Soviet Republic. Sports historians and football experts widely consider him to be one of the greatest goalkeepers in football history.

As athletic as any of the greats, Yashin was also a physical specimen, standing six feet 2 inches tall, making him ideal – not being too tall to be slowed down nor too short to lack the reach and length to defend the goal.

As a goalkeeper, Yashin was also a quick thinker and a master strategist. He could defend the goal and act as an extra defender on the pitch, akin to a sweeper. He was also known to start vicious counterattacks, even when he was the farthest from the offense.

Image source: readtheleague.com 

Yashin's entire career spanned two decades, from 1950 to 1970, one of the longest tenures in any sport and was spent with one team -- the mighty Dynamo Moscow. He won five USSR championships and three Soviet Cups for his team. As a national team player, Yashin won in the 1956 Summer Olympics and bagged the first European championship, the 1960 European Nations' Cup.

One of Yashin's most notable games was the England vs. The Rest of the World match in 1963. He showcased his talent by saving the ball and preventing the goal on many occasions in spectacular fashion. Because Yashin wore all black and defended the goal as though he had eight limbs, he was called the Black Spider, Alexander Sabadash adds.