MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Lev Yashin (October 22, 1929-March 20, 1990) is still 'the icon' of the Soviet football for fans worldwide, a former teammate said on Thursday, the 80th anniversary of the goakeeper's birth.

Yury Maslachenko said that "Lev enjoyed tremendous popularity among fans as well as journalists worldwide. Soviet football was mainly associated with the name of Yashin," Maslachenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper ever to have won the European Player of the Year Award. He spent his whole career, from 1949 to 1971, at Dynamo. The keeper, who wore all black when defending his goal, won world fame with his breathtaking performances in the 1966 World Cup in England, as the Soviet Union reached the semifinals.

In 1994, FIFA established the Lev Yashin award for the best goalkeeper at the World Cup. Yashin's FIFA testimonial game at Luzhniki stadium in Moscow was attended by 100,000 fans, who saw appearances by soccer legends such as Pele, Eusebio and Franz Beckenbauer. There is also bronze monument to Yashin at Dynamo's home ground.