Leonel Sánchez

Leonel Sánchez
	Sánchez in 1959
Personal information
Full name	Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros
Date of birth	25 April 1936
Place of birth	Santiago, Chile
Date of death	2 April 2022 (aged 85)
Place of death	Santiago, Chile
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Left forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
1953–1969	Universidad de Chile
1969–1970	Colo-Colo
1971–1972	Palestino
1972–1973	Ferroviarios
Total
International career
1955–1968	Chile
Managerial career
1985–1986	Universidad de Chile
1987	Universidad de Chile
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Chile
FIFA World Cup
Copa América
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Leonel Guillermo Sánchez Lineros (25 April 1936 – 2 April 2022) was a Chilean professional footballer who played as a striker or on the left wing.

40 years after the Ballet Azul, Universidad de Chile supporters still idolize him

He is recognized as one of the Best South American Footballers of the 20th Century and one of the great forwards in the history of the FIFA World Cup.[1] He was the top goalscorer of the 1962 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 the Golden Boot and the Bronze Ball from FIFA.[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 the 1956 South American Championship, where Chile 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 club Universidad de Chile, he was one of the leaders of the Blue Ballet era (1959–1969). is remembered for having been the leader of the Chile national team that placed third in the 1962 FIFA World Cup and was one of the prominent participants in the infamous match against Italy. In La 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 the IFFHS as the 40th Best South American Footballer of the 20th Century, surpassing several international players such as his compatriot Iván Zamorano, Brazilians Domingos da Guia and Ademir Marques de Menezes, Uruguayan José Pedro Cea and Argentine Raimundo Orsi.

Career

Leonel Sanchez was the son of a professional boxer.[8]

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.

He played at left midfield for over 20 years between 1953 and 1973. 17 of those 20 years were for Universidad de Chile, where he was the icon of the Ballet Azul (Blue Ballet), a team that won 6 national championships between 1959 and 1969.

Four of his 24 international goals were at the 1962 World Cup on home soil, where he was the top scorer along with five other players as Chile finished the tournament in third place. In that World Cup he is also remembered for his disputes with several Italian players in the infamous Chile – Italy match in the first round: he knocked out the Italian player Mario 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 broke Humberto 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 as Real Madrid, Juventus and A.C. Milan. In 1969, after a contract rule was settled, Universidad de Chile was forced to sell him. He finished his career playing for Chilean clubs Colo-Colo, Palestino and Ferroviarios.[12]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	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

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[13]
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

Scores and results list Chile's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sánchez goal.

List of international goals scored by Leonel Sánchez[14]
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	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	5 June 1960	Montevideo, Uruguay	Uruguay	2–2	Friendly
8	19 March 1961	Santiago, Chile	Peru	5–2	Friendly
9	19 March 1961	Santiago, Chile	Peru	5–2	Friendly
10	26 March 1961	Santiago, Chile	West Germany	3–1	Friendly
11	26 March 1961	Santiago, Chile	West Germany	3–1	Friendly
12	9 December 1961	Santiago, Chile	Hungary	5–1	Friendly
13	9 December 1961	Santiago, Chile	Hungary	5–1	Friendly
14	30 May 1962	Santiago, Chile	Switzerland	3–1	1962 FIFA World Cup
15	30 May 1962	Santiago, Chile	Switzerland	3–1	1962 FIFA World Cup
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

Honours

Universidad de Chile

Chilean League: 1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969
Metropolitan Tournament of Chile: 1968, 1969
Copa Francisco Candelori: 1969

Colo-Colo

Chilean League: 1970

Individual

Golden Boot: 1962
All-Star Team: 1962 FIFA World Cup
IFFHS South America best Player of the Century: N°40

References

es.fifa.com, ed. (25 April 2016). "Leonel Sánchez". Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
es.fifa.com, ed. (29 June 2010). "Boot of Adidas Gold - FIFA World Cup". Archived from the original on 29 June 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
fifa.com, ed. (28 April 2019). "100 days, 100 players: Leonel Sánchez". Retrieved 3 May 2020.
Estadio Magazine, publication N⁰ 688 of 2 March 1956
msn.com (ed.). "Leon el Sánchez, Miguel Ángel Brindisi, José Dirceu Guimarães and Rivelino, the specialists of free kicks in South America". Retrieved 3 May 2020.
"Leonel Sánchez - International Appearances". partidosdelaroja.com. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
Chile.as.com, ed. (30 March 2016). "More goal passes in the history of La Roja". Retrieved 3 May 2020.
"Login".
Murray, Scott (6 November 2003). "The Knowledge (November 6, 2003)". Guardian Online (UK). London. Retrieved 26 June 2006.
Heffernan, Conor (18 October 2014). "The Battle of Santiago at World Cup 1962". These Football Times. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
"Top 50 Hardest Footballers". empireonline.com. The Times. 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
Line, Sur On. "BDFA Argentina-Futbol Argentino-Clubes-Jugadores-Torneos de Ascenso-Servicios".
"Leonel Sánchez - International Appearances".
"Leonel Sanchez".

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[1] s.fifa.com, ed. (25 April 2016). "Leonel Sánchez". Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2020.

[2] s.fifa.com, ed. (29 June 2010). "Boot of Adidas Gold - FIFA World Cup". Archived from the original on 29 June 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2020.

[3] .com, ed. (28 April 2019). "100 days, 100 players: Leonel Sánchez". Retrieved 3 May 2020.

[4] Estadio Magazine, publication N⁰ 688 of 2 March 1956

[5] sn.com (ed.). "Leon el Sánchez, Miguel Ángel Brindisi, José Dirceu Guimarães and Rivelino, the specialists of free kicks in South America". Retrieved 3 May 2020.

[6] "Leonel Sánchez - International Appearances". partidosdelaroja.com. Retrieved 26 September 2020.

[7] Chile.as.com, ed. (30 March 2016). "More goal passes in the history of La Roja". Retrieved 3 May 2020.

[8] "Login".

[guardian-9] Murray, Scott (6 November 2003). "The Knowledge (November 6, 2003)". Guardian Online (UK). London. Retrieved 26 June 2006.

[10] Heffernan, Conor (18 October 2014). "The Battle of Santiago at World Cup 1962". These Football Times. Retrieved 20 December 2022.

[11] "Top 50 Hardest Footballers". empireonline.com. The Times. 13 August 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.

[12] Line, Sur On. "BDFA Argentina-Futbol Argentino-Clubes-Jugadores-Torneos de Ascenso-Servicios".

[13] "Leonel Sánchez - International Appearances".

[14] "Leonel Sanchez".