Stiven Ricardo Plaza Castillo (born Esmeraldas, Ecuador, 11 March 1999) is an Ecuadorean professional footballer who plays as a forward for American club New York Red Bulls II.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Stiven Ricardo Plaza Castillo | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1999-03-11) 11 March 1999 (age 23) | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Eloy Alfaro, Ecuador | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Forward | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | New York Red Bulls II | |||||||||||||||
Number | 39 | |||||||||||||||
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) | |||||||||||||
2019–2022 | Valladolid | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2019–2020 | Valladolid B | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2020–2021 | → Trabzonspor (loan) | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2021–2022 | → Independiente del Valle (loan) | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2022– | New York Red Bulls II | 7 | (1) | |||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
2019 | Ecuador U20 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2018 | Ecuador | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 October 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 June 2019 |
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]
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. On 25 August 2019, Plaza scored his first goal in Europe, helping Real Valladolid Promesas to a 4-1 victory over CD Izarra in a Segunda División B match.[7]
On 17 August 2020, Plaza was loaned to Turkish side Trabzonspor for two seasons.[8] On 26 September 2020, Plaza made his debut with Trabzonspor in 3-1 victory over Yeni Malatyaspor.[9] He appeared in only three official matches with the club.
After struggling to fulfill his promise, Valladolid loaned Plaza to his former club Independiente del Valle during February 2021.[10]
On 30 August 2022, Valladolid announced the transfer of Plaza to New York Red Bulls.[11] He was initially assigned to New York Red Bulls II.[12] He made his debut for New York Red Bulls II on 31 August 2022, coming on late in the match in a 3-3 draw versus Hartford Athletic.[13] On 10 October 2022, Plaza scored his first goal for New York in a 2-1 loss to Memphis 901 FC.[14]
On 4 October 2018, Plaza was called up by Ecuador manager Hernán Darío Gómez for friendlies against Qatar and Oman.[15] 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.[16]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Alianza Cotopaxi | 2018[18] | Segunda Categoría | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7[lower-alpha 1] | 8 | 7 | 8 | ||
Independiente del Valle | 2018 | Serie A | 22 | 7 | — | — | — | 22 | 7 | |||
Real Valladolid | 2018–19 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Real Valladolid Promesas | 2019–20 | Segunda División B | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||
Trabzonspor (loan) | 2020–21 | Süper Lig | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
Independiente del Valle (loan) | 2021 | Serie A | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
Independiente del Valle (loan) | 2022 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
New York Red Bulls II | 2022 | USL Championship | 6 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 1 | ||
Career total | 51 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 60 | 17 |
Ecuador national team | ||
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Year | Apps | Goals |
2018 | 2 | 0 |
Total | 2 | 0 |
New York Red Bulls II – current squad | |
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