Lev Yashin is a lump! After him, the Ballon d'Or was not won by any goalkeeper.

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Exactly 60 years ago, Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin won the main individual award in world football – the Golden Ball. And even though from that moment on more than a dozen top goalkeepers managed to shine, the Dynamo legend still remains the only one in this role to receive an honorary prize.

Despite his unsuccessful performance at the 1962 World Championships, the following year the European champion rehabilitated himself and became known throughout the planet. The championship with the “blue and white” was overshadowed by a business trip to the “Match of the Century”, which was held at the legendary Wembley Arena in London on the occasion of the anniversary of the Football Association of England. It is believed that it was the game of Yashin, who kept a clean sheet as part of the world team and amazed the local public, that predetermined the race for the Golden Ball. Neither Gianni Rivera from Milan nor Jimmy Greaves from Tottenham could compete with Panther (the nickname of Lev Ivanovich – editor's note) with his perfect play throughout the penalty area.

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“When we were strong in spirit, when we believed in each other and in ourselves, when we did not want to put up with failures and surrender ourselves to the mercy of fortune, then there were victories, medals, laps of honor in the stadiums of the capitals of the largest tournaments. When our character betrayed us, when the strength of spirit melted away when we internally recognized the superiority of others, when we calmly accepted the possibility of defeats, then recessions occurred.” br>Lev Ivanovich Yashin
from the book “Notes of a Goalkeeper”

And now let's remember the goalkeepers who were closer than anyone else to repeating Yashin's success. We settled on five who were in the top 3 voting for the Ballon d'Or. An amazing achievement given the love of journalists, football players and coaches to choose forwards.

The statistics speak for themselves: 67 times the ZM was awarded – 48 times it was taken by the attackers.

Dino Zoff
One of the best goalkeepers of the 20th century came closest to the Ballon d'Or in 1973. Zoff spent his debut season at Juventus, immediately won the first Scudetto in his career and reached the Champions League final with the club. The decisive match largely decided the fate of the award. With the great Johan Cruyff, Ajax won the main European trophy for the third time in a row, and the Golden Ball went to the Dutchman.

Ivo Victor
Legendary national team goalkeeper Czechoslovakia was nominated for the main football award for its first-class performance at the 1976 European Championship. He was the creator of that victory and received the best goalkeeper award.

In the voting for the Ballon d'Or, Victor lost only to the winner of the Champions League and Euro finalist Franz Beckenbauer and Rob Resnenbrink, bronze medalist of the European Championship and leader of Anderlecht, who won the Cup Winners' Cup in '76.

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Oliver Kahn
The great German claimed the Ballon d'Or twice! First in 2001 after Bayern won the Champions League (Kahn became the hero of the final), and then in 2002 after winning silver at the World Championship (best goalkeeper of the tournament). It’s a pity that both times the charismatic goalkeeper finished third. For the first time, he let Michael Owen and Raul go ahead, and for the second time, the winners of the world championship in the Brazilian national team, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.

Gianluigi Buffon< br>The Italian is a living icon of goalkeeper craft. One of the brightest episodes of his career was the triumphant 2006 World Cup for the Azzurra. Buffon personally pulled the team out in the match with the Czechs, had a blast in the playoffs, and the team’s title was brought to them by a victory in a penalty shootout.

In Germany, Gigi set a world championship record, keeping five out of seven matches to zero, but the Golden Ball went to his partner for Juve and Fabio Cannavaro's national team. However, the triumphant himself was sure that it was Buffon who deserved the prize.

Manuel Neuer
Neuer not receiving an award after a phenomenal 2014 is a blatant injustice. The number one of Bayern and the German national team simply rewrote the textbooks on goalkeeping, revealing the role of libero to the world. The “goalkeeper” with a wonderful kicking game began to go outside the penalty area and serve as the last defender. At the World Cup in Brazil, the final transformation of the German was helped by the Bundesmanschaft: the best goalkeeper and the company became world champions, holding the tournament without a single defeat.

However, as in the case of compatriot Kahn, Manu became only third. Cristiano Ronaldo was recognized as the best, who finally achieved a “decima” with Real Madrid (tenth victory in the Champions League), followed by the best player of the 2014 World Cup, Lionel Messi.