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#9 Soviet Union 3
Up until 1991, there existed a country called the Soviet Union. In 1991 the unified country was split into different countries for political reasons. But when the Soviet Union was in existence, three players from the country won the award.
The first player from the Soviet Union to win the award was Lev Yashin who is considered by many as the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game. In 1963, when Yashin received the award, he became the first goalkeeper to win the honour and till date is the only goalkeeper to win the award.
The next two Soviet Union players to win the award were Oleg Blokhin and Igor Belanov in 1975 and 1986 respectively. Both players played for Dynamo Kyiv, which is now a professional club in Ukraine, while the club for which Lev Yashin played for is now in Russia.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Lev Yashin | Dynamo Moscow | 1963 |
| Oleg Blokhin | Dynamo Kyiv | 1975 |
| Igor Belanov | Dynamo Kyiv | 1986 |
