Ergilio Hato
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ergilio Pedro Hato | ||
| Date of birth | 7 November 1926 | ||
| Place of birth | Willemstad, Curacao | ||
| Date of death | 18 December 2003 (aged 77) | ||
| Place of death | Willemstad, Curacao | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| CRKSV Jong Holland | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1943-1959 | CRKSV Jong Holland | 101 | (5) |
| National team | |||
| 1944-1955 | Curacao | 35 | (4) |
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
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Ergilio Pedro Hato (7 November 1926 – 18 December 2013), also known as Pantera Negra (black panther), was a goalkeeper from Curaçao and the Caribbean football in the former Netherlands Antilles. was well known in the Caribbean its reputation achieved beyond the boundaries of the region, to the point of being able to be one of the best goalkeepers in the history of world football, he refused to become a professional football player turning down offers to large teams, including Ajax Amsterdam, Feyenoord Rotterdam and Real Madrid Club de Fútbol.
History
His mother’s last name was Hatot, but the Civil Registry couldn’t place the name, so they decided to spell Ergilio’s last name “Hato”. Hato was always an avid soccer player. Back in the day, school yards were set up as soccer fields and monks encouraged playing before school, during breaks, and after school. Hato (19 in 1945) would have been drafted for military service had the Curaçao Soccer Federation not hosted a large international competition with teams from Colombia, Aruba, Suriname and the Netherlands Feyenoord in 1945. Curaçao’s “Dream Team” delivered a clean sweep. Feyenoord came in second. A huge disappointment for the Dutch, and a testament to Curaçao’s innate talent… despite its small size and limited resources.
Hato became known as the best goalkeeper in Latin America and the Caribbean, and took the Netherlands Antilles team to the Olympics in 1952 (they lost against Turkey), Ergilio led Curaçao’s team to a Bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 1955, Hato’s international notoriety afforded him several lucrative offers to play professional soccer internationally, rejecting offers from teams from South America and Europe, including Real Madrid, AFC Ajax and Feyenoord. He pursued a career at the ALM Antillean Airlines, raised a family, and played in his local club, CRKSV Jong Holland.
He lived up to his many nicknames on the field: Pantera Negra (Black Panter), Vliegende Vogel (Flying Bird) and Man van Elastiek (Elastic Man).
Footnotes
The Dutch publishers SWP have released a book about Mister Hato and his life. More to be found at http://web.archive.org/web/20070929134838/http://www.sportgericht.nl/489.html this publishing is to be considered the only publication in book form about Hato, in Dutch and Antilian language.
Honours
- The Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curaçao was named after him.
- The Hato International Airport in Willemstad, Curaçao is also named in his honor, the second passion of Ergilio was the aviation.
- Central American and Caribbean Games Bronze Medal (1): 1946
- Central American and Caribbean Games Gold Medal (1): 1950
- Pan American Games Bronze Medal (1): 1955
- CCCF Championship Silver Medal (1): 1955