9. Soviet Union – 3 times
| Player | Team | Year |
| Lev Yashin | Dynamo Moscow | 1963 |
| Oleg Blokhin | Dynamo Kyiv | 1975 |
| Igor Belanov | Dynamo Kyiv | 1986 |
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.
