Pablo Ansaldo

{{Infobox football biography

|name = Pablo Ansaldo

|image =

|caption =

|fullname = Pablo Mario Ansaldo Villacís

|height = 1.81m

|birth_date = {{birth date|1935|3|2|df=yes}}

|birth_place = Guayaquil, Ecuador

|death_date = {{death date and age|2016|10|31|1935|3|2|df=yes}}

|death_place = Guayaquil, Ecuador

|years1 = 1954–1966

|clubs1 = Barcelona SC

|caps1 =

|goals1 =

|years2 = 1958

|clubs2 = → Emelec (loan)

|caps2 =

|goals2 =

|years3 = 1966–1967

|clubs3 = Manta

|caps3 =

|goals3 =

|nationalteam1 = Ecuador

|nationalyears1 =

|nationalcaps1 = 23

|nationalgoals1 = 0

| manageryears1 = 1965–1966

| managerclubs1 = Barcelona SC

| manageryears2 = 1966–1967

| managerclubs2 = Manta

| manageryears3 = 1970

| managerclubs3 = Once Caldas

| manageryears4 =

| managerclubs4 = Atlético Bucaramanga

| manageryears5 = 1973

| managerclubs5 = Barcelona SC

| manageryears6 = 1974

| managerclubs6 = Barcelona SC

| manageryears7 = 1985

| managerclubs7 = Barcelona SC

}}

Pablo Mario Ansaldo Villacís (2 March 1935 – 31 October 2016) was an Ecuadorian footballer and manager.

Club career

Born in Guayaquil, Ansaldo began his career with hometown club Barcelona SC, making his debut for the club on 23 June 1954 in a 2–0 win against Panamá.{{cite web|url=https://www.extra.ec/noticia/deportes/pabloansaldo-muerto-arquero-barcelona-ecuador-816191.html|title=¡Pablo Ansaldo se nos fue!|publisher=Extra|date=31 October 2016|access-date=2 January 2025|language=es}} In 1958, Ansaldo played for rivals Emelec on an international tour.{{cite web |url=http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias/deportes/3/401536/fallece-exgolero-ecuatoriano-pablo-ansaldo |title=Fallece exgolero ecuatoriano, Pablo Ansaldo |website=El Tiempo |date=31 October 2016 |access-date=2 January 2025 |archive-date=4 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104062609/http://www.eltiempo.com.ec/noticias/deportes/3/401536/fallece-exgolero-ecuatoriano-pablo-ansaldo |url-status=dead|language=es }} During Barcelona's victorious 1960 Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol campaign, Ansaldo became the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in Ecuadorian football since the establishment of a national league three years prior. In 1966, Ansaldo signed for Manta, playing for the club for a season before his retirement.{{cite web|url=https://peloteros.com.ec/sitioweb/2020/05/24/pablo-ansaldo-jorge-phoyu-y-luis-alberto-alayon/|title=Pablo Ansaldo, Jorge Phoyú y Luis Alberto Alayón|publisher=Peloteros|access-date=2 January 2025|language=es}}

International career

In total, Ansaldo represented Ecuador 23 times,{{cite web|url=https://www.lahora.com.ec/deportes/pablo-ansaldo-deja-de-existir-a-los-81-a-os/|title=Pablo Ansaldo deja de existir a los 81 años|publisher=Diario La Hora|date=1 November 2016|access-date=2 January 2025|language=es}} including four times at the 1963 South American Championship.{{cite web|url=https://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/pablo-ansaldo/ |title=Pablo Ansaldo |work=worldfootball.net |access-date=12 July 2021}}

On 15 August 1965, during qualification for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Ansaldo suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung, following a robust challenge from Chilean striker Carlos Campos, resulting in surgery and Ansaldo being sidelined for several months.{{cite web|url=https://www.eluniverso.com/deportes/2016/10/31/nota/5884975/pablo-ansaldo-heroe-ecuador-eliminatoria-mundial-1966/|title=Pablo Ansaldo, héroe de Ecuador en la eliminatoria al Mundial 1966|publisher=El Universo|date=31 October 2016|access-date=2 January 2025|language=es}}

Managerial career

In 1965, whilst still playing, Ansaldo took up the role of player-manager at Barcelona. In 1966, after moving to Manta, Ansaldo once again resumed the role of player-manager. Following his time managing in Ecuador, Ansaldo managed Colombian clubs Once Caldas and Atlético Bucaramanga.{{cite web|url=https://www.enciclopediadeportiva.com/futbol/futbol-ecuador/433-tecnicos-ecuatorianos-que-dirigieron-en-el-extranjero.html|title=Tecnicos ecuatorianos que dirigieron en el extranjero|publisher=Enciclopedia Deportiva|date=31 October 2016|access-date=2 January 2025|language=es}} Ansaldo later returned to Barcelona as manager on a number of occasions.{{cite web |url=http://www.bsc.ec/campeonatos.php |title=Campeonatos|website=Barcelona S.C. |access-date=2 January 2025 |archive-date=1 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001110036/http://www.bsc.ec/campeonatos.php |url-status=dead|language=es }}

Style of play

Nicknamed el gato (the cat), due to his reflexes, Ansaldo's hardiness was praised by journalist Mauro Velásquez as being "brave to the point of being described as reckless and suicidal". Ansaldo's performance in a 1–0 win away to Colombia on 20 July 1965 won plaudits from the press at the time, with one newspaper reporting that Ansaldo was even capable of stopping the "Caribbean winds".{{cite web|url=https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/futbol/1/fallece-pablo-ansaldo-idolo-de-barcelona|title=Pablo Ansaldo, el arquero temerario y suicida que tapó con dos costillas rotas|publisher=El Telégrafo|date=31 October 2016|access-date=2 January 2025|language=es}}

Death

On 2 September 2016, Ansaldo suffered a stroke. Following 60 days in intensive care, Ansaldo died at a hospital in Guayaquil at the age of 81 on 31 October 2016.