Ergilio Hato

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. He took the Netherlands Antilles team to the Olympics in 1952 (they lost against Turkey) and led Curaçao's team to a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 1955. Hato's international notoriety awarded 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 Panther), Vliegende Vogel (Flying Bird) and Man van Elastiek (Elastic Man).

The Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curaçao was named after him. 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