Patrick Jennings: Lev Yashin, Bullet-maker to Ballon d'Or

If you only read one article during this year’s World Cup, make it Patrick Jennings’ extensive piece on Russian football legend Lev Yashin. The image of the flat-capped goalkeeper will be everywhere this summer as part of the branding for Russia 2018. And his story is an epic tale which Jennings tells in a gripping piece of long-form journalism on the BBC website. Built around an incredible interview with Yashin’s widow, Valentina, in the Moscow apartment she used to share with her late husband, Jennings tells the story of a man who was forced to flee from the Nazis as a young boy and ended up becoming the only goalkeeper in the history of the sport to win the Ballon D’or. Yashin was the original sweeper keeper. But it is the format of the article as much as the content which sparkles. Created by a team of more than a dozen BBC journalists, the article shows what is possible in digital journalism. Built using the visual storytelling platform Shorthand, the piece is fully interactive, with accompanying archive photographic and video footage and a scrolling timeline.Enjoy  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit backpagepress.substack.com