Stiven Ricardo Plaza Castillo (born

Esmeraldas, Ecuador Esmeraldas () is a coastal city in northwestern Ecuador. It is the seat of the Esmeraldas Canton and capital of the Esmeraldas Province. It has an international sea port and a small airport ( IATA location identifier: ESM). Esmeraldas is the major ...

, 11 March 1999) is an Ecuadorean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for Ecuadorean side Guayaquil City.

Club career

Independiente del Valle

Born in

Eloy Alfaro Canton Canton Eloy Alfaro is a canton of Ecuador, part of the province of Esmeraldas. Its capital is the town of Limones. Its population at the 2001 census was 33,403. Demographics Ethnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010: * Afro-Ecuadorian ...

, Plaza started his career with Norte América in 2011, as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. In 2017, after stints at

Deportivo Azogues Deportivo Azogues was an Ecuadorian football club based in Azogues. It played in the Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after ...

and

Aucas The Huaorani, Waorani, or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are an Indigenous people from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador ( Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate ...

, he joined

Independiente del Valle Club de Alto Rendimiento Especializado Independiente del Valle, known simply as Independiente del Valle, is a professional football club based in Sangolquí, Ecuador, that currently plays in the Ecuadorian Serie A. Founded in 1958, the club play ...

and was a regular starter in the club's under-18 squad. Converted to a

by Juan Carlos León, Plaza made his senior debut during the 2018 season with

Alianza Cotopaxi Alianza may refer to: Sport * Alianza Atlético, Peru * Alianza F.C., San Salvador * Alianza F.C. (Panama) * Alianza Universidad in Huánuco, Peru * Alianza Lima, Peru * Alianza Petrolera F.C., Colombia Music * Alianza (Argentine band) * Alianza ...

, the club's

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

. After scoring 7 goals in 3 games in the 2018 U-20 Copa Libertadores, he was reportedly being watched by scouts of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

sides

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. Plaza made his professional – and

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

– debut on 11 June 2018, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 away draw against Universidad Católica. He scored his first goal on 12 August, netting his team's third in a 3–1 home win against Emelec. On 23 October 2018, Plaza scored a brace in a 2–0 away defeat of Técnico Universitario.

Valladolid

On 10 December 2018, Spain's

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

confirmed a pre-contract with Plaza to join the club once the transfer window opened on 1 January 2019. Then, Plaza made his debut with Valladolid on 16 February 2019, in a 1–0 away loss against

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. On 25 August 2019, Plaza scored his first goal in Europe, helping

Real Valladolid Promesas Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol Promesas is the reserve team of Real Valladolid, a Spanish football club based in Valladolid, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded in 1942, currently plays in Segunda Federación – Group 1, h ...

to a 4–1 victory over

CD Izarra Club Deportivo Izarra is a Spanish football team based in Estella-Lizarra, in the autonomous community of Navarre. Founded in 1924 it plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2, holding home matches at ''Estadio Merkatondoa'', with a capacity o ...

in a

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

match.

Trabzonspor (loan)

On 17 August 2020, Plaza was loaned to Turkish side

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

for two seasons. On 26 September 2020, Plaza made his debut with Trabzonspor in 3–1 victory over

Yeni Malatyaspor Yeni Malatyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Malatya, Turkey. The club plays in the TFF First League, which is the second tier of football in the country. History Founded in 1986 as Malatya Belediyespor. Its prima ...

. He appeared in only three official matches with the club.

Independiente del Valle (loan)

After struggling to fulfill his promise, Valladolid loaned Plaza to his former club Independiente del Valle during February 2021.

New York Red Bulls

On 30 August 2022, Valladolid announced the transfer of Plaza to

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. He was initially assigned to

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yo ...

. He made his debut for

on 31 August 2022, coming on late in the match in a 3–3 draw versus

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut. History On June 8, 2021, Ha ...

. On 10 October 2022, Plaza scored his first goal for New York in a 2–1 loss to

Memphis 901 FC Memphis 901 FC is an American professional soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Stadium The club currently plays on the grounds of AutoZone Park, a baseball stadiu ...

Guayaquil City

He joined Guayaquil City in July 2023 after a brief spell with SD Aucas. If was his fifth club in four years.

International career

On 4 October 2018, Plaza was called up by

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

manager

Hernán Darío Gómez Hernán Darío Gómez Jaramillo (; born 3 February 1956), also known as El Bolillo (; ''The Baton''), is a Colombian former football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Career He was an active player from 1966 to 198 ...

for

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

and

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

. He made his full international debut eight days later, starting in a 4–3 loss against the former at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Ecuador U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

third place:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual *

U-20 Copa Libertadores The Under-20 CONMEBOL Libertadores (Portuguese and Spanish: CONMEBOL Libertadores Sub-20) is the international association football club competition for teams that play in CONMEBOL leagues. It was created by Manuel Burga Seoane and the Peruvian ...

top goalscorer:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

References

External links

*
Stiven Plaza profile
at

Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol The Ecuadorian Football Federation ( es, Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol or ) is the governing body of football in Ecuador. Its headquarters are in Quito, and it organizes the country's various football competitions and oversees the Ecuador ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plaza, Stiven 1999 births Living people People from Eloy Alfaro Canton Ecuadorian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Ecuadorian Serie A players C.S. Norte América footballers C.S.D. Independiente del Valle footballers La Liga players Segunda División B players Süper Lig players Real Valladolid players Real Valladolid Promesas players Trabzonspor footballers New York Red Bulls II players Ecuador men's international footballers Ecuadorian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Ecuadorian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ecuador men's under-20 international footballers