Stiven Plaza
Stiven Ricardo Plaza Castillo (born Esmeraldas, Ecuador, 11 March 1999) is an Ecuadorean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle, on loan from Real Valladolid.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stiven Ricardo Plaza Castillo | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 11 March 1999 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Eloy Alfaro, Ecuador | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | |||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team  | 
Independiente del Valle (on loan from Valladolid)  | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | Norte América | |||||||||||||||
| 2014 | → Deportivo Azogues (loan) | |||||||||||||||
| 2015 | → Deportivo Azogues (loan) | |||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Aucas | |||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Independiente del Valle | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | Alianza Cotopaxi | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | Independiente del Valle | 22 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| 2019– | Valladolid | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2019– | Valladolid B | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | → Trabzonspor (loan) | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2021– | → Independiente del Valle (loan) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | Ecuador U20 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2018– | Ecuador | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
Honours 
  | ||||||||||||||||
| 
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 December 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 June 2019  | ||||||||||||||||
Club career
    
    Independiente del Valle
    
Born in Eloy Alfaro Canton, Plaza started his career with Norte América in 2011, as a left winger. In 2017, after stints at Deportivo Azogues and Aucas, he joined Independiente del Valle and was a regular starter in the club's under-18 squad.[1]
Converted to a forward by Juan Carlos León, Plaza made his senior debut during the 2018 season with Alianza Cotopaxi, the club's reserve team.[1] 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 sides Manchester City and Manchester United.[2]
Plaza made his professional – and Serie A – debut on 11 June 2018, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–1 away draw against Universidad Católica.[3] He scored his first goal on 12 August, netting his team's third in a 3–1 home win against Emelec.[4]
On 23 October 2018, Plaza scored a brace in a 2–0 away defeat of Técnico Universitario.[5]
Valladolid
    
On 10 December 2018, Spain's Real Valladolid confirmed a pre-contract with Plaza to join the club once the transfer window opened on 1 January 2019.[6] Then, Plaza made his debut with Valladolid on 16 February 2019, in a 1–0 away loss against Barcelona.
Trabzonspor (loan)
    
On 17 August 2020, Plaza was loaned to Turkish side Trabzonspor for two seasons.[7]
International career
    
On 4 October 2018, Plaza was called up by Ecuador manager Hernán Darío Gómez for friendlies against Qatar and Oman.[8] 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.[9]
Career statistics
    
    Club
    
- As of 13 January 2019[10]
 
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Alianza Cotopaxi | 2018[11] | Segunda Categoría | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7[lower-alpha 1] | 8 | 7 | 8 | ||
| Independiente del Valle | 2018 | Serie A | 22 | 7 | — | — | — | 22 | 9 | |||
| Real Valladolid | 2018–19 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 31 | 17 | ||
- Appearance(s) in Campeonato Provincial de Segunda Categoría de Cotopaxi
 
Honours
    
- Ecuador U20
 
- FIFA U-20 World Cup third place: 2019[13]
 
Individual
    
- U-20 Copa Libertadores top goalscorer: 2018
 
References
    
- "Stiven Plaza, el delantero que comenzó como volante" [Stiven Plaza, the forward who started as a midfielder] (in Spanish). El Comercio. 3 November 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Stiven Plaza estaría en la mira de equipos de Inglaterra" [Stiven Plaza would be on target of English club] (in Spanish). Estadio. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Universidad Católica salvó el empate 1–1 con Independiente del Valle gracias a Jhon Cifuente" [Universidad Católica saved a 1–1 draw with Independiente del Valle thanks to Jhon Cifuente] (in Spanish). El Universo. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Independiente logra primer triunfo de la segunda etapa con Stiven Plaza como figura" [Independiente reach the first triumph of the second half with Stiven Plaza as the main man] (in Spanish). El Universo. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Independiente del Valle derrotó 2–0 a Técnico Universitario y entra en la pelea por la segunda etapa" [Independiente del Valle defeated Técnico Universitario by 2–0 and get in the fight for the second half] (in Spanish). El Comercio. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Preacuerdo para la incorporación de Stiven Plaza" [Pre-contract for the signing of Stiven Plaza] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Stiven Plaza, cedido dos temporadas al Trabzonspor" [Stiven Plaza, loaned two seasons to Trabzonspor] (in Spanish). Real Valladolid. 17 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
 - "Los convocados de Ecuador para medir a Qatar y Omán" [The called up players of Ecuador to face Qatar and Oman] (in Spanish). Estadio. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Qatar derrota 4–3 a una floja selección de Ecuador" [Qatar defeat by 4–3 a floppy Ecuador] (in Spanish). El Universo. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - Stiven Plaza at Soccerway. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Plaza Castillo Stiven Ricardo" (in Spanish). Ecuadorian Football Federation. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Stiven Plaza". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
 - "Mina sparks historic finish for Ecuador". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 June 2019. Archived from the original on June 15, 2019.
 
External links
    
- Stiven Plaza at National-Football-Teams.com
 - Stiven Plaza profile at Federación Ecuatoriana de Fútbol (in Spanish)
 - Stiven Plaza at Soccerway