Timo Courtois, the Belgian goalkeeper who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid, won the Yashin trophy on Monday at the Ballon d’Or awards in Paris. Liverpool’s Allison Becker finished as the runners-up, followed by Manchester City’s Ederson in third place.
The Yashin trophy is awarded by France football, the organisers of the Ballon d’Or awards, and it is given to the best goalie from the previous season. In the past, Gianluigi Donnarumma (2021), Allison Becker (2019), and Ederson (2020) have won the award.
Also read: Watch: Sadio Mane wins the first Socrates award at the 2022 Ballon d’Or
What is the Yashin Trophy?
The Yashin Trophy is an award instituted by France football after the legendary Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin. It was established in 2019 and the winner of the award is selected by a panel of former Ballon d’Or winners.
The award is named after Lev Yashin to celebrate his legacy and how he paved the way for high-intensity goalkeeping in modern football. Coming from the erstwhile Soviet Union, Yashin was known for his athleticism, positioning, stature and acrobatic reflex saves.
Yashin also changed goalkeeping by instituting the goalkeeper as the primary organiser of a team’s defense. Goalkeepers shouting at the defenders to maintain positions or cover space is a common phenomenon today. However, it was started by Yashin who was a prolific screamer in the Soviet goal behind the defence line.
His style of dressing up in black sportswear earned him the name Black Spider, or sometimes Black Panther.
After he retired from football, Yashin became the deputy chairman of the Football Federation of the Soviet Union.
Two new awards were introduced this year at the Ballon d’Or 2022 – the Gerd Muller trophy and the Socrates Award.
Also read: Robert Lewandowski wins the Gerd Muller trophy at the 2022 Ballon d’Or
The Gerd Muller trophy will be given to the highest goalscorer on the planet, and the first edition was won by Robert Lewandowski.
The Socrates Award will recognise a footballer’s contribution off the field and this year Senegalese player Sadio Mane won it for his philanthropic work.
