Pablo Mario Ansaldo Villacís (2 March 1935 – 31 October 2016) was an Ecuadorian footballer and manager.
[2] 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.
[5] 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.
[8] 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".
Following 60 days in intensive care, Ansaldo died at a hospital in Guayaquil at the age of 81 on 31 October 2016.