Mauricio Illesca

As a curiosity, the news about the arrest of a drug trafficker nicknamed Bototo Illesca, like Mauricio, was shown in a Chilean TV program from Mega channel in 2011. His former fellow footballer Tincho Gálvez thought that it was about Mauricio and called him, realizing that their nicknames matched.

His last club was Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia, playing the last match in December 2000 versus América de Cali, becoming the four Chilean to play for the club after Carlos Molina, Juan Ramón Garrido and Luis Ceballos.

After a good season with Audax Italiano, in 1997 he had a brief step with Spanish club UD Las Palmas, making five appearances.

At senior level, he was a substitute in the World Cup qualification matches versus Peru and Bolivia in 1997. In addition, he took part in the friendly match versus Millonarios in October 1997.

Illesca represented Chile at under-20 level in the 1991 South American Championship.

Born in Concepción, Chile, as a child, Illesca was with Escuela Barrabases from San Eugenio Neighborhood, Estación Central, in Santiago. Then he joined Universidad de Chile youth system at the age of 12 and made his professional debut in a 1990 Copa Chile match versus Soinca Bata, scoring a goal in the 2–1 win. In 1992, he and his fellow Rodrigo Goldberg were loaned to Santiago Wanderers in the Chilean Segunda División. He is well remembered by the club fans due to the fact that he became the team goalscorer with 15 goals. In Chile, he also played for Deportes La Serena, O'Higgins, Colo-Colo, Audax Italiano, Deportes Concepción and Coquimbo Unido.

Mauricio Leonel Illesca Carreño (born 5 January 1972) is a Chilean former professional footballer who played as a striker for clubs in Chile, Spain and Colombia.