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_(cropped).jpg) Sánchez in 1959 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1936-04-25)25 April 1936 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Santiago,Chile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 2 April 2022(2022-04-02) (aged 85) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Santiago, Chile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Left forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1953–1969 | Universidad de Chile | 386 | (159) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963 | →AC Milan (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1969–1970 | Colo-Colo | 31 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1971–1972 | Palestino | 15 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972–1973 | Ferroviarios | 11 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 443 | (178) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1955–1968 | Chile | 85 | (24) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1986 | Universidad de Chile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | Universidad de Chile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros (25 April 1936 – 2 April 2022) was a Chilean professionalfootballer who played as astriker or on theleft wing.
He is recognized as one of theBest South American Footballers of the 20th Century and one of the great forwards in the history of theFIFA World Cup.[1] He was the top goalscorer of the1962 FIFA World Cup where Chile achieved a historic third-place finish. He was also part of the team of the tournament of the World Cup and was awarded theGolden Boot and theBronze Ball fromFIFA.[2] He was also included in the top 100 players of the history of the World Cups by FIFA.[3] At the continental level he was part of the team of the tournament of the1956 South American Championship, whereChile was the runner-up.[4] In addition,Conmebol included him among the best specialists of free kicks in the history of South America.[5]
Considered one of the best Chilean players in history and one of the club's greatest idols for the clubUniversidad de Chile, he was one of the leaders of theBlue Ballet era (1959–1969). is remembered for having been the leader of the Chile national team that placed third in the1962 FIFA World Cup and was one of the prominent participants in the infamousmatch against Italy. In that match Sanchez had a number of scuffles with Mario David the Italian defender who was eventually sent off for a head high tackle on Sanchez. InLa Roja, Leonel Sánchez is the seventh all-time top scorer with a total of 24 goals and 13 assists.[6][7]
His performances both at the Universidad of Chile and in the national team made him recognized by theIFFHS as the40th Best South American Footballer of the 20th Century, surpassing several international players such as his compatriotIván Zamorano, BraziliansDomingos da Guia andAdemir Marques de Menezes, UruguayanJosé Pedro Cea and ArgentineRaimundo Orsi.
He played at left midfield for over 20 years between 1953 and 1973. 17 of those 20 years were forUniversidad de Chile, where he was the icon of theBallet Azul (Blue Ballet), a team that won 6 national championships between 1959 and 1969.
Constituted on 10 February 1960, Sánchez was a leadership member of theUnión de Jugadores Profesionales (Union of Professional Football Players) in Chile.[8]
Four of his 24 international goals were at the1962 World Cup on home soil, where he was the top scorer along with five other players asChile finished the tournament in third place. In that World Cup he is also remembered for his disputes with several Italian players in the infamousChile – Italy match in the first round: he knocked out the Italian playerMario David with a punch in an altercation after being fouled, and was subsequently kicked in the head by David a few minutes later, resulting in the Italian defender's sending off. Sánchez later also brokeHumberto Maschio's nose with a left hook; Chile won the match 2–0.[9][10] Because of his role in the match, later dubbed the "Battle of Santiago", in 2007,The Times placed Sánchez at number 6 in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history.[11]
Sánchez remained at Universidad de Chile, although he received numerous offers from well known European clubs such asReal Madrid,Juventus andAC Milan. However, he played on loan for AC Milan, previous to a possible signing, in the Torneo Città di Milano (Milan City Tournament) in June 1963 against bothInter Milan andSantos, where they became champions. He coincided with Mario David, with whom he had quarreled a year before in theBattle of Santiago.[12][13][14] In 1969, after a contract rule was settled, Universidad de Chile was forced to sell him. He finished his career playing for Chilean clubsColo-Colo,Palestino andFerroviarios.[15]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Universidad de Chile | 1953 | Chilean Primera División | 4 | 1 | – | – | 4 | 1 | ||
| 1954 | 5 | 3 | – | – | 5 | 3 | ||||
| 1955 | 33 | 14 | – | – | 33 | 14 | ||||
| 1956 | 22 | 10 | – | – | 22 | 10 | ||||
| 1957 | 21 | 14 | – | – | 21 | 14 | ||||
| 1958 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 1 | – | 27 | 10 | |||
| 1959 | 26 | 22 | 6 | 4 | – | 32 | 26 | |||
| 1960 | 23 | 10 | – | 2 | 0 | 25 | 10 | |||
| 1961 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 0 | – | 26 | 6 | |||
| 1962 | 32 | 19 | – | – | 32 | 19 | ||||
| 1963 | 27 | 11 | – | 3 | 0 | 30 | 11 | |||
| 1964 | 24 | 5 | – | – | 24 | 5 | ||||
| 1965 | 30 | 15 | – | 4 | 0 | 34 | 15 | |||
| 1966 | 19 | 8 | – | 5 | 2 | 24 | 10 | |||
| 1967 | 34 | 6 | – | – | 34 | 6 | ||||
| 1968 | 27 | 6 | – | 1 | 0 | 28 | 6 | |||
| 1969 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | 11 | 1 | |||
| Total | 386 | 159 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 412 | 167 | ||
| Colo Colo | 1970 | Chilean Primera División | 31 | 2 | – | – | 31 | 2 | ||
| Total | 417 | 161 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 443 | 169 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chile | 1955 | 2 | 0 |
| 1956 | 9 | 2 | |
| 1957 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1958 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1959 | 9 | 3 | |
| 1960 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1961 | 8 | 6 | |
| 1962 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1963 | 1 | 5 | |
| 1964 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1965 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1966 | 12 | 0 | |
| 1967 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1968 | 3 | 1 | |
| Total | 85 | 24 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 January 1956 | Montevideo, Uruguay |  Brazil | 4–1 | 1956 South American Championship | |
| 2 | 9 February 1956 | Montevideo, Uruguay |  Peru | 4–3 | 1956 South American Championship | |
| 3 | 11 March 1959 | Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Paraguay | 1–2 | 1959 South American Championship (Argentina) | |
| 4 | 26 March 1959 | Buenos Aires, Argentina |  Bolivia | 5–2 | 1959 South American Championship (Argentina) | |
| 5 | 18 November 1959 | Santiago, Chile |  Argentina | 4–2 | Friendly match | |
| 6 | 5 June 1960 | Montevideo, Uruguay |  Uruguay | 2–2 | Friendly | |
| 7 | ||||||
| 8 | 19 March 1961 | Santiago, Chile | Peru | 5–2 | Friendly | |
| 9 | ||||||
| 10 | 26 March 1961 | Santiago, Chile |  West Germany | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 11 | ||||||
| 12 | 9 December 1961 | Santiago, Chile |  Hungary | 5–1 | Friendly | |
| 13 | ||||||
| 14 | 30 May 1962 | Santiago, Chile |  Switzerland | 3–1 | 1962 FIFA World Cup | |
| 15 | ||||||
| 16 | 10 June 1962 | Arica, Chile |  Soviet Union | 2–1 | 1962 FIFA World Cup | |
| 17 | 13 June 1962 | Santiago, Chile | Brazil | 2–4 | 1962 FIFA World Cup | |
| 18 | 16 May 1965 | Montevideo, Uruguay | Uruguay | 1–1 | Copa Juan Pinto Durán | |
| 19 | 21 July 1965 | Santiago, Chile | Argentina | 1–1 | Copa Carlos Dittborn | |
| 20 | 1 August 1965 | Santiago, Chile |  Colombia | 7–2 | 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 21 | 22 August 1965 | Santiago, Chile |  Ecuador | 3–1 | 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 22 | 12 October 1965 | Lima, Perú | Ecuador | 2–1 | 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
| 23 | 13 December 1967 | Santiago, Chile | Hungary | 4–5 | Friendly | |
| 24 | 27 August 1968 | Ciudad de México, México |  Mexico | 1-3 | Friendly |
Leonel Sanchez was the son of a professionalboxer.[18]
Sanchez studied at República Argentina, a prestigious public primary school of Santiago; and at Manuel Barros Borgoño, a traditional public secondary school of the capital.
Universidad de Chile
AC Milan
Colo-Colo
Chile
Individual
Chile squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Awards | |||||||||||
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