Lev Yashin

Yashin’s debut for Dynamo Moscow 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 played in only two league games, and did not appear in a senior match again until 1953. But he remained determined, and stayed at Dynamo 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 win a USSR ice hockey cup in 1953 and was third in the USSR ice hockey championship as goalkeeper. 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. Yashin's club teammate, 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. He also internally rivalled goalkeeper Valter Sanaya, who left the club in 1953.

In 1954, Yashin was called up to the Soviet national team, and would go on to gather 74 caps. With the national team he won the 1956 Summer Olympics as well as the first European championship, the 1960 European Nations' Cup. He also played in three World Cups, in 1958, 1962 and 1966. Yashin is credited with four clean sheets out of the 12 games he played in the World Cup finals. The 1958 World Cup, played in Sweden, put Yashin on the map for his performances, with the Soviet Union advancing to the quarter-finals. In a group stage match against the eventual Cup winners Brazil, the Soviet team lost 2–0. Facing a Brazil team that featured Garrincha and a 17 year old Pelé in attack, Yashin's performance prevented the score from becoming a rout. Yashin was nominated for Ballon d'Or in 1960 and 1961 and placed fifth and fourth, respectively. In 1962, despite suffering two concussions during the tournament, he once again led the team to a quarter-final finish, before losing to host country Chile. The tournament showed that Yashin was all too human, having made several uncharacteristic mistakes. In the game against Colombia, which the Soviet Union was leading 4–1, Yashin let in a few soft goals, including a goal scored by Marcos Coll directly from a corner kick. It was the first and the only goal scored directly from a corner in FIFA World Cup history. The Soviet Union's game against Colombia finished in a 4–4 draw, and French newspaper L'Équipe predict the end of Yashin's career.…

Yashin was born in Moscow, to a Russian family of industrial workers. When he was 12, World War II forced him to work in a factory to support the Soviet war effort. However his health at the age of 18 (after he suffered a nervous breakdown) meant he was unable to work. Thus, he was sent to work in a military factory in Moscow. After being spotted playing for the factory team he was invited to join the Dynamo Moscow youth team.

After retiring from playing, Yashin spent almost 20 years in various administrative positions at Dynamo Moscow. He also spent much of his retirement indulging in what his wife called his second passion: fishing. A bronze statue of Lev Yashin was erected at the Dynamo Stadium in Moscow. In 1986, following a thrombophlebitis contracted while he was in Budapest, Yashin underwent the amputation of one of his legs. He died in 1990 of stomach cancer, despite a surgical intervention in an attempt to save his life. He was given a state funeral as a Soviet Honoured Master of Sport. Yashin was survived by wife Valentina Timofeyevna and daughters Irina and Elena; when Russia hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Valentina was still living in the Moscow apartment that the Soviet state had given her husband in 1964. Yashin has a granddaughter and one surviving grandson; another grandson died in 2002 at age 14 from injuries suffered in a bicycle accident. The surviving grandson, Vasili Frolov, played as a goalkeeper in Dynamo's youth section and was on the books of the senior side, but never played a game with the senior side, retiring from play at age 23. He now runs a goalkeeper training school in Moscow near Spartak Moscow's current stadium.