Known variously as the 'Black Panther', 'Black Spider', and 'Black Octopus', Yashin cut an imposing figure in the Soviet Union's goal during a 78-cap international career that spanned 13 years from 1954-67.
An immense presence physically, Yashin's long arms, superb reflexes and agility made him a formidable last line of defence and he was one of the first 'keepers to truly boss the penalty area.
A veteran of three World Cups, Yashin is also the only goalkeeper to have won the prestigious European Player of the Year award, and receiving that accolade in 1963 was one of the proudest moments of his career.
Born in Moscow in November 1929, the young Yashin's height earned him the nickname 'Eiffel Tower' from his classmates when only seven years old.
His physical attributes prompted him to try several sports before he finally settled on football.
Aged 13 in 1943, Yashin went to work at an aircraft factory and later began playing for the company's football team, starting out as a forward but eventually ending up in goal.
In 1948, the young Yashin was conscripted into the army, where he began playing ice hockey. A year later he joined Moscow Dynamo's side and, in 1954, won the first of five Russian championships with the club.
Though his obsession remained football, Yashin was growing increasingly frustrated at his ability to break into Dynamo's starting team, where the Soviet Union's Alexei Khomich was unmovable.
Yashin seriously contemplated giving up the game for ice hockey, but when Khomich suffered an injury his understudy was finally given a chance. Less than a year later Yashin supplanted Khomich in the Soviet Union team.
Sent on as a substitute, he conceded a goal within a few minutes of coming on in his first match. "It wasn't a good beginning," Yashin recalled later.
Despite the hiccup on his debut, Yashin quickly established himself as the first choice and in 1956 was a member of the Soviet Union's gold medal-winning team at the Melbourne Olympics.
Yashin was a member of his country's squads at the 1958, 1962 and 1966 World Cups, and enjoyed his best performance in England, where the Soviets finished fourth after reaching the semi-finals.
His biggest success at international level was a winners medal at the 1960 European Championship. He retired aged 41, having kept 270 clean sheets and legend has it that he saved more than 150 penalties during his career.
"The joy of seeing Yuri Gagarin in space is only superseded by the joy of a good penalty save," he was once quoted as saying.
He was honoured with the Order of Lenin in 1968. On his death in 1986, Moscow's official news agency described him simply "as the most famous Soviet sportsman ever."
