The Black Spider gave goalkeepers everywhere a role model
Only one goalkeeper has ever won the Ballon d’Or, and a match in England may have played a significant part.
In 1963 there was no major international tournament, and Soviet outfits had yet to enter the European Cup. There was, however, a match between England and a Rest of the World side at Wembley, to mark football’s 100th anniversary. Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas and Eusebio were among those who appeared for the visitors, but it was Yashin who stole the show in just 45 minutes. He pulled off a string of sensational saves from Jimmy Greaves, keeping the scoreline at 0-0 before going off at half-time.
A couple of months later, the Ballon d’Or was his aged 34 after winning his fifth Soviet league title with Dynamo Moscow, conceding only seven goals in 27 games.
Yashin was ahead of his time, frequently rushing off his line to intercept marauding forwards, head the ball away from danger and bark at defenders. His big break came not long after the end of World War Two. Evacuated east from Moscow to Ulyanovsk at 11, he worked in a munitions factory but had a nervous breakdown at 18, deciding to volunteer for military service before his goalkeeping talent was spotted by Dynamo.
A decent ice hockey net minder for Dynamo until focusing on football, Yashin guided the Soviets to gold at the 1956 Olympics, then impressed at the 1958 World Cup to earn his nickname ‘The Black Spider’, courtesy of what seemed an all-black strip but was actua
