i would say best ever in his time...doubt you saw a single match with Yashin with all respect, and back then football was different as in Buffon, Schmeichel days...don´t compare uncomparable..
Same could be said about Pele, Maradona, so Messi is already best in history according to your logic?
Well I'm from USSR and my grandfather played in Soviet Dinamo (not Moscow) so we are looking from a little bit different perspective, he actually saw him play live and I was feed all that from very young age. You shouldn't argue about this really, just as Russia having best ever goalkeeper in hockey too
About Yashin, he did get Golden Ball, he did impress everyone that saw him play, he did revolutionize the way goalkeepers play. If Schemeichel is following a pattern and "set of rules" that somebody though to him - there is nothing "LEGENDARY" about him, yes he just as Buffon are exceptional goalkeepers, but have they given something REALLY new to the game, no! They are just perfectioning something thats already been discovered and invented. In this case Yashin was first to make a breakthrough, when others are just building upon it:
1963: Ballon d'Or (the only goalkeeper to hold the award)
1988: FIFA Order of Merit
2000: FIFA World Keeper of the Century
Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper ever to win the European Footballer of the Year Award (1963). He is also believed to have stopped around 150 penalty kicks during his career, far more than any other goalkeeper in history.
Still, his reputation as a brilliant keeper, a true sportsman,
and an innovator of the game lives on. Yashin would always organize the defensive game of his team, often so fiercely that even his wife accused him of yelling too much on the pitch. He rarely captained his teams, as the accepted custom of appointing a goalkeeper captain was virtually unheard-of in that era, but his leadership on the field was always evident. Yashin was one of the goalkeepers that began the practice of punching balls out in difficult situations instead of trying to catch them. Other novel practices he developed were the quick throw of the ball to begin a counterattack, coming out of the penalty area to anticipate danger, and the command and organization of the defenders—practices now quite common among goalkeepers.
In 1994, FIFA established the Lev Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper at the World Cup finals. FIFA polls named Yashin as the sole goalkeeper in World Team of the 20th century. World Soccer Magazine named him in their The 100 Greatest Players of the 20th century. Many commentators still consider Yashin the best keeper in the history of football, which resulted in the fact he was chosen to be the goalkeeper in most of the world-all-time teams ever written (including the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team and the FIFA Dream Team)
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO SCHMEICHEL
- who is he compared to "Pele" of goalkeeping? Yashin input into goalkeeping was far more important than Schmeichel input into Manchester United titles and success (oh yes lets not forget EURO-1992)
There isnt really a many things to be proud in Russian/Soviet football, but Yashin is a holy grail of goalkeeping. Sorry if I sound like a maniac, but I just can't see anything that would make Schmeichel bigger person for football than Yashin.
Wearing a heavy coat in goal doesn't help.
by the way Im Dominican ... I just think Im South American 
