Joao Plata

Joao Plata
Plata playing against the Chicago Fire on May 25, 2013
Personal information
Full name Joao Jimmy Plata Cotera
Date of birth (1992-03-01) March 1, 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Guayaquil, Ecuador
Height 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
C.D. FAS
Youth career
2004–2007 Barcelona SC
2007–2009 Alfaro Moreno
2009–2010 LDU Quito
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 LDU Quito 7 (1)
2011Toronto FC (loan) 26 (3)
2012 Toronto FC 10 (0)
2012LDU Quito (loan) 13 (1)
2013–2019 Real Salt Lake 175 (46)
2019Real Monarchs (loan) 1 (1)
2020–2021 Toluca 15 (1)
2022 Delfín 7 (0)
2023– C.D. FAS 11 (4)
International career
2011–2018 Ecuador 5 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 October 2018

Joao Jimmy Plata Cotera (Spanish pronunciation: [joˈaw ˈplata]; born March 1, 1992) is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays as a forward for C.D. FAS in the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador.

Club career

LDU Quito

Plata began his career in the youth ranks of hometown club Barcelona before joining the Alfaro Moreno Academia in Guayaquil in 2009. After impressing at Alfaro Moreno he joined the youth ranks of LDU Quito.

Plata impressed Liga coach Edgardo Bauza and was called up to the senior side during the Second Stage of the 2010 Serie A season. On August 22, 2010 Plata made his professional debut for LDU Quito at Estadio Casa Blanca in a 1–0 victory over Olmedo. His debut was considered very promising and Plata became a fixture for the rest of the season.

On September 18, 2010 Plata scored his first professional goal in a 1–0 victory over ESPOLI. This important goal helped Liga consolidate their position at the top of the table. Plata ended the season appearing in 7 league matches (starting 5) and scoring one goal as Liga captured the Second Stage of the 2010 Serie A and then defeated Emelec to be declared national champion for the 10th time in the club's history.

Toronto FC

Plata playing for Toronto FC

At the conclusion of the 2010 season, in order to continue his development, Plata was loaned to Major League Soccer and was selected by Toronto FC with the No. 49 pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. Toronto FC signed Plata on March 24, 2011. On April 2 Plata made his debut for Toronto as a second half sub for Alen Stevanović, in a 1–1 home draw against Chivas USA. On April 27 Plata made his first start for Toronto and provided two assists in a 3–0 away win against FC Edmonton in the first leg of the Canadian Championship. For the second leg on May 4, Plata again made the starting line-up and provided an assist as well as receiving Man of the Match honours in a 1–0 home win, giving Toronto a 4–0 aggregate victory over FC Edmonton to advance to the Canadian Championship final. Plata got his first MLS goal in a 2–1 victory over Houston Dynamo the goal was a well taken penalty and he later went on to set up the second for Maicon Santos, his performance earned him MLS player of the week. On July 2 Plata scored a crucial goal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC helping seal Toronto's third consecutive Canadian Championship, earning the team a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. Plata was awarded the George Gross Memorial Trophy as the tournament's best player.

Plata playing for Toronto FC

On July 27 Plata made his Champions League debut against Real Esteli F.C. coming on for Gianluca Zavarise in the 49th minute, Plata led his team to a 2–1 home victory scoring both goals. Plata's success continued in the champions league scoring two goals in a crucial match-up against FC Dallas on October 18 in the final group stage game, with a 3–0 away victory it advanced Toronto to its first ever quarter final appearance.

On January 11, 2012 the club announced a multi-year deal to keep Plata at Toronto FC; as per club policy and league, the details of the new contract signing were not disclosed, but reports suggest a $500,000 fee was paid to secure him. Plata scored his first goal of the season on April 4, during the second leg of the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League semifinals against Santos Laguna, Plata scored both goals in a 6–2 away loss.

Plata returned to LDU Quito on a six-month loan from Toronto on July 11, 2012.

Real Salt Lake

Joao Plata playing for RSL

Plata re-joined Toronto in January 2013 upon the end of the loan. However, on January 30, 2013 he was traded to Real Salt Lake in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.

On May 20, 2013, Plata scored his first goal for Real Salt Lake against Chivas USA.

In 2014, he scored a career high 13 goals, while also adding six assists, leading to the Twitter hashtag #PlataEsOro becoming popular, a play on the meaning of Plata's name, "plata" being the Spanish word for "silver" and "oro" meaning "gold."

In 2015, he re-signed with RSL, as a Young Designated Player contract. In 2017, he again extended his contract, remaining as a Designated Player, having passed the age for being a Young DP. Early in the 2019 season, he played a match with RSL's B team, Real Monarchs in the second tier USL Championship, scoring in a 4-1 victory against Reno 1868.

Following a disappointing season, in which he scored one goal, which came on a 95th-minute penalty kick against the Colorado Rapids, which was his first MLS goal in 364 days, his contract option was declined by Real Salt Lake after the 2019 season.

Toluca

On 6 July 2020, it was announced that Plata would join Liga MX side Toluca for the 2020–21 season. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 January 2021 against Necaxa. His contract was terminated in the summer of 2021.

Delfín

On 28 January 2022, he joined Ecuadorian Serie A club Delfín.

FAS

In August 2023, he joined C.D. FAS of the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador.

International career

Plata was a member of the Ecuador Under-20 national team. On May 20, 2011 Plata was given his first senior call-up to the national team and made his debut for against Canada, on June 1, 2011, as a second half sub in a 2–2 away draw, at his club team, Toronto FC's home field BMO Field. Plata was called up for friendlies against the United States and El Salvador, in the game against El Salvador Plata scored two goals in a 5–1 win over El Salvador

Style of play

Standing at 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in), Plata is the shortest player in MLS history, alongside Cristian Techera and Yeferson Soteldo; although not physically imposing, his small stature, combined with his low centre of gravity and resulting balance, make him extremely agile, and allow him to change direction very quickly in tight spaces, while his strong legs allow him to excel in short bursts of speed. In addition to his mobility and elusiveness, Plata is an extremely quick and dynamic player, who is known for his great acceleration over short distances, and his pace on the ball, as well as his dribbling ability and technical skills. A creative forward, Plata is an accurate finisher, and is capable of both scoring and assisting goals, which allows him to play in several offensive positions: although he has been used as a striker or as a supporting forward, his favoured role is on the left wing, a position which allows him to move out wide to receive the ball, beat players on the dribble, and subsequently cut into the middle of the pitch on his stronger right foot to either shoot on goal or set up his teammates.

Career statistics

Club

As of 9 November 2019
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Playoffs Domestic Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
LDU Quito 2010 Serie A 7 1 0 0 7 1
Total 7 1 0 0 7 1
Toronto FC (loan) 2011 MLS 26 3 4 1 5 4 35 8
Toronto FC 2012 10 0 3 0 4 2 17 2
Total 36 3 7 1 9 6 52 10
LDU Quito (loan) 2012 Serie A 13 1 13 1
Total 13 1 13 1
Real Salt Lake 2013 MLS 29 4 2 0 5 2 36 6
2014 26 13 2 0 1 0 29 13
2015 19 4 3 1 3 1 25 6
2016 30 9 1 1 2 2 2 1 35 13
2017 29 7 0 0 0 0 29 7
2018 25 8 3 0 0 0 28 8
2019 19 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 20 1
Total 177 46 8 1 11 5 6 2 202 54
Real Monarchs (loan) 2019 USL Championship 1 1 0 0 1 1
Total 1 1 0 0 1 1
Career total 234 51 8 1 18 6 15 8 275 67
  1. ^ Appearances in the Canadian Championship and U.S. Open Cup.
  2. ^ a b c d Appearances in the CONCACAF Champions League.
  3. ^ Appearances in the Leagues Cup.

International

As of October 16, 2018
Ecuador national team
Year Apps Goals
2011 1 0
2014 3 2
2018 1 0
Total 5 2

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Final Competition
1. October 14, 2014 Red Bull Arena, New Jersey, United States  El Salvador
1–0
5–1
Friendly
2.
3–0

Honors

Club

LDU Quito
Toronto FC
Real Salt Lake

Individual


This page was last updated at 2024-03-17 00:11 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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