The only goalkeeper in the history of football to receive this honor, nicknamed "Black Spider" and "Octopus", the legendary former Soviet player Lev Yasin.
If football also has a list of gods, then the greatest goalkeeper in the history of football is the legendary Soviet player Lev Yasin.
European Footballer of the Year
The iconic duck-tongue hat, the back line of the sea god needle, Yasin was a hot figure in world football in the fifties and sixties, and if it were not for the Second World War, his name would have been known long ago. In 1963 he was elected European Footballer of the Year, the only goalkeeper in the history of football to receive this honour.
Pioneer of door-line technology
In modern football, people like the wonderful goals of the frontcourt players in the box, and some people like the second pass of the midfielders, or like the artistic defensive performances of the backcourt players, but there is one position that is always overlooked, that is, the goalkeeper position.
A good goalkeeper, reaction ability, coordination ability, position selection, attack ability, foot technology, prejudgment ability, defensive tacit understanding, etc. are quite important. In the 1950s and 1960s, Yasin had already achieved a combination of goal-line techniques, and he was the pioneer of goal-line technology in the modern football goalkeeper position, and is still a template for the development of active goalkeepers.
Saved 98 penalties
During his 26-year career as a goalkeeper, he played for Dynamo Moscow for the rest of his life. In his football career, he has saved almost 150 penalties in 812 matches for clubs and national teams.
In the 1950s and 1960s, when the Soviet Union was in a cold war with the Western world, football evolved into a war style, yasin represented the Soviet team 78 times, and in 1956 helped the Soviet team win the Olympic gold medal, firmly holding the door of the Red Soviet Union. In 1960, he helped the Soviet Union win the European Championship, and in 1963 Yassin was elected European Footballer of the Year.
In 1970, the British "Football World" magazine selected the world's best player in the past 20 years, and Yasin ranked second after Pele.
The superstar ends
On May 27, 1971, the 42-year-old Yassin held a farewell match, and all the proceeds of that game were done for public welfare, and a generation of door gods retired. In 1984, Yassin was forced to amputate his right leg because of a blood clot. In 1989, Jasin was awarded the Order of the Golden Star for Heroes of Socialist Labor. Yassin died of illness on March 20, 1990, at the age of 61.
In 1994, FIFA for the first time set up the World Cup Best Goalkeeper Award, which is used to recognize the most outstanding goalkeeper in each World Cup, the name of this award is called "Yasin Award", in tribute to the legendary doorman Yasin of the Soviet Union. In 2000, he was named the goalkeeper of the century by FIFA.
Even today, when people talk about the best goalkeeper in the history of football, they don't forget to mention a name: "Black Spider" Lev Yassin.