Soviet goalkeeper Yashin is widely considered one of the best in his position in history. He is the only goalkeeper to have won the Golden Ball, and the International Federation of Football History and Statistics has recognized him as the best goalkeeper of the twentieth century.

Yashin played 326 matches for Moscow Dynamo in the USSR Championship, played 74 times for the national team, and somehow managed to smoke four packs a day. He never traveled anywhere without his cigarettes. During a trip to India before the 1956 Olympics, an elephant stole a pack from Yashin. The addiction eventually led to the development of a stomach ulcer. As a result, he was forced to constantly carry baking soda with him to relieve the pain.