By: Zoran Avramović
The morning after the ceremony announcing the winners in the joint selection of France Football and UEFA, a friend asked me in an elevator in New Belgrade what I thought about the laureates. I fired back like a bullet: “Lev Yashin is great!”
It was a “shot” after which silence fell in the elevator. My answer was so surprising and confusing for him that, barely waiting for the doors to open, he said somewhat angrily: “Alright then, goodbye,” probably thinking I didn’t want to continue the conversation on that topic. A man of mature years asks you about Moussa Dembélé, Lamine Yamal, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Luis Enrique (not to forget the best female player, Aitana Bonmatí of Barcelona), and you blurt out “Yashin.”
It didn’t make sense to run after my friend, who hurried off to his office, so I’ll explain here why mentioning the goalkeeper from the glorious era of Soviet football in the mid-20th century still rings in my ears. UEFA’s awards, alongside the Russian goalkeeper, bear the names of Gerd Müller, Johan Cruyff, and Raymond Kopa. It’s a fine gesture of cultural remembrance. A proof that football is not a game from yesterday, but one with symbols, tradition, recognition, and continuous social value that has endured all global conflicts, pandemics, misfortunes, as well as technological revolutions and innovations. It is especially nice that with the establishment of awards named after football greats, the thread of continuous memory is strengthened, helping us to better see the past as inspiration and encouragement for new generations. And Lev Yashin is the perfect model for that.
The spotlight of the football stage has always been on goal-scorers, dribblers, and those who score or assist goals. Until Yashin, goalkeepers were chained to the goal line, their only role to defend. With his arrival, they became players. His nickname, “The Black Spider,” encapsulated an entire era of football. “Black” because of the always dark kit he wore, from cap to boots. He was a magnet for younger generations on both sides of the Iron Curtain. An acrobat with sharp reflexes, lightning-fast, fearless, unbeatable, with 151 penalties saved. And most importantly for football’s (r)evolution, he became – from the last man in defense – the first offensive midfielder. (Later, this would be called the “third defender,” with the glory of innovation eventually going to Manuel Neuer). Lev Yashin changed football, making it more dynamic, effective, and attractive.
He is the only goalkeeper ever awarded by France Football as Europe’s best footballer. The award, established in 1956, was successively won by Stanley Matthews, Alfredo Di Stéfano (twice), Raymond Kopa, Luis Suárez, Omar Sívori, Josef Masopust – and then, in 1963, the Ballon d’Or landed in the gloves of Lev Ivanovich Yashin. Pelé said: “Yashin is number one, forever!”
It’s difficult to draw parallels across a time arc of six decades. This year’s “Yashin” laureate, Donnarumma, transferred from Napoli to Milan at the age of 14 for €250,000. Lev, at 14, during the hell of the Second World War, worked in a munitions factory in Ulyanovsk repairing railway cars. Donnarumma earns €16 million annually at Manchester City, while Yashin, after winning the 1960 European Nations’ Cup with the Sbornaya, refused a blank check from Real Madrid, saying he could not imagine life outside his country. Real president Santiago Bernabéu said at the time: “I am truly ready to pay any amount of money for him, even if it means selling all my family diamonds and falling into debt. But even that sum will not be enough, because Mr. Yashin truly has no price, just like the works of great artists that can be found in the Prado Museum.”
And in the Prado Museum, among others, are works of Velázquez, Dürer, Titian, El Greco, Caravaggio, Goya, and Raphael.
Ah, my friend from the elevator…
