By Adam (@pochemuchkaproductions)
This is the 1st part of a 6-Part Series where I will be talking about 6 of the greatest goalkeepers to come out of Eastern Europe. I firmly believe that the Goalkeepers that have come out of Eastern Europe have been the greatest and most influential Goalkeepers that continue to influence the next generations to this day.
The original “Iron Curtain Keeper” and whose legacy lives on forever with the establishment of an award in his name for the best goalkeeper of the World Cup Finals, Lev Yashin influenced Football and the concept of Goalkeeping by introducing concepts and methods that we continue to see today. As well, his iron-will and determination set forth a template for Goalkeepers to follow, and is still considered to be one of the most athletic goalkeepers to grace the space between the posts, gaining him the nicknames “The Black Spider” and “The Black Panther”.
Born in Moscow in 1929, just as the Soviet Union had been created. By age 12 he was working in the military factories of Moscow during the times of WWII, and it was there that he was first discovered and recruited for one of the Soviet Voluntary Sports Societies, Dynamo Moscow.
From 1950 to 1970, he represented Dynamo Moscow 326 times, even scoring 1 goal in the process. The beginnings were shaky, but he stayed determined and he soon he was the cornerstone that Dynamo Moscow built their teams off of. Unbeknown to most, he also played for Dynamo Moscow’s Ice Hockey team as a Goalkeeper, where he won a USSR Ice Hockey Cup in 1953.
He furthered his legacy as the Goalkeeper for the USSR in international competition, where he was capped 78 times, and went head-to-head with the legends like Pele, Eusebio, and against England, who gave him the nickname of “The Black Spider” for the head-to-toe black equipment that he wore.
But Lev Yashin’s legacy is not fully because of his accomplishments on the field, but from the methods, tactics, and techniques that he pioneered which directly influenced goalkeepers to this day.
He was the first “Goalkeeper General” who would arrange his defence and shout instructions and changes as he saw fit during a match. He was one of the Goalkeepers that started the practice of punching high balls instead of catching them, which was common but also at times difficult due to the material that footballs were made of, and the lack of grip on goalkeeper gloves in these days. He pioneered the use of the quick throw from gaining possession to immediately begin counter-attacks for his side, and was one of the first goalkeepers to come off out of the 6-Yard Box to directly challenge attackers instead of waiting for them to come to him. These are all methods that are now considered fundamentals for goalkeepers today, and it was due to him that these became cornerstones of goalkeeping.
One of the most telling quotations he ever spoke was in regards to the concept of goalkeeping and the mentality of a goalkeeper:
“What kind of a goalkeeper is the one who is not tormented by the goal he has allowed? He must be tormented! And if he is calm, that means the end. No matter what he had in the past, he has no future.”
And from being a goalkeeper myself, it is a concept that is easily misunderstood now a days. Now we are taught that even if we are scored on, that we are to put on a straight face, be strong, and keep going. And on the surface we all must do this as we stand between the posts. Because what other choice do we have? Because we are that last line of defence. But Lev’s statement hits home perfectly, in that whether we show it or not, every single goal that goes past us is one that hits us down deep inside hard. It is one of the hardest lessons to learn as a goalkeeper, and one that keeps many people from trying the position.
But Lev showed us, and will continue to show generations of goalkeepers who are schooled in the fundamentals that he taught, that when you are between those posts, your goal is not to score, it is not to make assists, but that it is to stop that ball from going past you. And to do so with passion and determination and desire, as if stopping that ball is the equivalent of taking your very last breath.
He redefined what being a goalkeeper was, and led the way for a generation of “Iron Curtain Keepers” to follow and further define the position and remain legends of the position to this day.
The Glorious Nation of Soccerstan 