Welcome to
my weekly blog “The Igor Bišćan Hall of Fame” every week I’ll be adding two new
additions, one will be a Liverpool Legend or fans favourite, the other a
Player, Manager or Club who have contributed to the world game we all love
(Gary Neville need not worry). This week two number 1’s who revolutionised the
art of goalkeeping, Please comment below who you’d like to see make the IBHoF,
here are this weeks entries. YNWA
RAY
CLEMENCE
1968/69 -
1980/81
Ray
Clemence was possibly the most important factor in Liverpool's continued success
throughout the seventies. That assessment came from Bill Shankly, the man who
paid Scunthorpe United £18,000 for the 19-year-old goalkeeper in June 1967 and
then saw him rise to become one of the best - maybe, at his peak, the very best
- in the world.
When Ray
arrived at Anfield, Bill hinted that a first-team spot was there for the
taking. But the canny Reds boss was either under-valuing the ability of
'keeper-in-residence Tommy Lawrence, which was not likely, or indulging in
kidology to spur the new boy to greater efforts, which was. In the event Ray
had to wait two and a half seasons to claim a place. By then, having tuned his
talents to an irresistible pitch of readiness at the elbow of his helpful
predecessor, he was itching to prove himself.
His early
games were played behind giant, aerially-dominant centre-halves – first Ron
Yeats, then Larry Lloyd - and initially Ray impressed with safe handling, sharp
reflexes and a knack of getting down quickly to low shots. But as his
confidence grew in subsequent seasons it was clear that he was a truly
outstanding all-rounder; apart from a weakness in goal-kicking – on which he
worked until it came up to scratch - there were no perceptible flaws. Ray
combined a keen positional sense with shrewd anticipation, instinctively
knowing when to leave his line and when to stay on it. This made for an
unflashy technique but Shankly knew that acrobatics were a poor substitute for
clean sheets and blessed the day he'd rescued Ray from Third Division
obscurity.
Another immense
Clemence virtue, so vital to the 'keeper of a team such as Liverpool which
spent long periods in their opponents' halves, was concentration, and Ray
possessed it in abundance. He could spend lengthy chunks of a match marooned
behind one of the world's most stingy defences without getting a touch of the
ball and it's a measure of his greatness that he could respond so magnificently
when the need arose. Indeed, but for the positive approach of this compulsive
shouter and organiser - which demanded involvement and sometimes made him more
sweeper than 'keeper - he might have spent his Anfield years as the loneliest
man in English football!
Statistical
proof of Ray's excellence is plentiful. In his first full term, which ended
with a brilliant display in the FA Cup Final defeat by Arsenal, he conceded
only 22 goals in his 41 games to help his defence equal the First Division
record of 24 in a season. The achievement was destined to be eclipsed, however,
as Ray let in a miserly 16 in 1978/79. But it's saves rather than cold figures
which live on in the memories of Reds fans, with penalty stops being
particularly vivid. One in a goalless away leg against Dynamo Dresden on the
way to winning the 1975/76 UEFA Cup, when he dived full-length to reach a firm,
low shot, was a real heart-stopper.
Clem, a
dedicated trainer who relished scoring in five-a-sides and dubbed himself ‘The
White Pele', ended his 'Pool days on a surprising note in August 1981. Still at
the peak of his powers, he announced the need for a new challenge and joined
Spurs, for whom he made more than 250 senior appearances. It's hard to see,
though, what he hoped to find in the way of motivation at White Hart Lane that
was missing at Anfield.
Running
parallel to his club exploits was an illustrious international career
throughout which he vied for the England jersey with Peter Shilton. The debate
about who was the better will rage forever; suffice it to say that Kopites,
like Ray's new fans at White Hart lane, were a touch peeved with England
manager Bobby Robson's final verdict.
BORN:
Skegness, 5.8.48. GAMES: 656. GOALS: 0.
CLUBS: Scunthorpe
United 1965-1967, Liverpool 1968-1981, Tottenham Hotspur 1981-1988.
HONOURS:
European Cup 76/7, 77/8, 80/1. UEFA Cup 72/3, 75/6. League Championship 72/3,
75/6, 76/7, 78/9, 79/80. FA Cup 73/4. League Cup 80/1.
INERNATIONAL
CAREER: 61 England caps (72-83).
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LEV YASHIN
Known in
Europe as the 'Black Panther' because of his distinctive all-black strip, Lev
Yashin has been hailed as the finest goalkeeper in the history of football.
Whilst others may also lay claim to that particular title, there can be no
doubt that the man who saved no fewer than 150 penalties in his career is the
most famous sportsman that the Soviet Union has ever produced.
Born into a
family of Moscow factory workers, Yashin himself worked in a tools factory
while playing amateur football in his spare time. Since he was the tallest boy
in the neighbourhood, he wanted to play at centre forward but his team coach
had other ideas and put him in goal. In 1946 he joined the Moscow Dynamo club
... as an ice hockey goaltender. However, the coaches there soon realised that
his natural aptitude was for soccer and after making his first-team debut in
1951, he took over as regular goalkeeper two years later when Alexei 'Tiger'
Khomich suffered a long-term injury.
He gained
his first international cap in 1954, helped his country to Olympic gold in 1956
and then to victory in the inaugural European Championships of 1960, beating
Yugoslavia in the Paris final. By then Yashin was established as an outstanding
goalkeeper, his agility complemented by sound positional sense. He was also one
of the first keepers to be comfortable with playing outside the penalty area,
his kicking being of the highest order. Nor did he hesitate when it came to
organising the defenders in front of him - even his wife used to accuse him of
shouting too much on the pitch. Although supremely confident he was incredibly
superstitious and always took two caps to a match -one to wear and the other to
put in the back of the net for luck.
Following an
indifferent World Cup in 1962 where he made a few uncharacteristic blunders, as
a result of which the USSR lost in the quarter-finals to host nation Chile,
Yashin returned to form and was named European Footballer of the Year in
1963-the only goalkeeper ever to have received that honour. He was also chosen
to represent FIFA in a World XI at Wembley in a match to mark the centenary of
the Football Association. He excelled in the 1966 World Cup although ironically
it was his error that allowed West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer to score the
decisive goal in the semi-finals. The next year he won the last of his 78 caps
(then a Soviet record), having conceded under a goal a game during his thirteen
years as national custodian.
Such was
the esteem in which Yashin was held in his homeland that in 1968 he became the
first footballer to be awarded the Soviet Union's highest honour, the Order of
Lenin, and when he retired in 1970 the event was marked with a testimonial
match the following year at the Lenin stadium in Moscow in front of 100,000
fans. An indication of the respect he enjoyed throughout the football world was
the fact that players of the calibre of Pele, Eusebio, Bobby Charlton and
Beckenbauer travelled to Moscow for the occasion. He had made 326 appearances
for Moscow Dynamo, guiding them to five League titles and three domestic Cup
successes. His reward was to be offered the manager's job the day after his
testimonial.
Sadly, this
supreme athlete, who had always covered the ground with such speed and purpose,
was stricken by ill health in 1986 and had to have a leg amputated. He died
four years later. A true one-club man, his impact on Soviet sport cannot be
overestimated. At a time when supposedly female Russian shot putters had a
nasty habit of disappearing off the face of the earth as soon as sex tests were
introduced, Yashin was one of the few Soviet sporting heroes who was instantly
recognisable and welcomed in the western world.
BORN:
Moscow, USSR. 22.10.29. GAMES: 326.
GOALS: 0.
DIED:
Moscow, 20.4.90 (aged 60).
CLUBS:
1949–1971 Dynamo Moscow.
INERNATIONAL
CAREER: Russian SFSR, Soviet Union 1954-1970 Caps 78.
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