was a Chilean professional footballer who played as a striker or on the left wing.

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. 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. He was also included in the top 100 players of the history of the World Cups by FIFA. 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. In addition, Conmebol included him among the best specialists of free kicks in the history of South America.

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 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. In La Roja, Leonel Sánchez is the seventh all-time top scorer with a total of 24 goals and 13 assists.

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.