SANDY - Joao Plata is just five feet, two inches tall. He’s listed at a colossal 135 pounds, but on the field, he is a towering figure for Real Salt Lake.
RSL traded Toronto FC for the rights to Plata a little over two years ago for some Taco Bell sauce packets and a 20% off coupon to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Ok, it may have actually been a second round pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. Since that trade, Plata has evolved from"surplus goods" to one of the most important players for the Utah franchise and a full-fledged Ecuador international
In 2012, Plata was languishing in Toronto and was eventually loaned to LDU Quito, a club in his native Ecuador. In January of 2013, some late-night dealing from then RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey gave the talented Plata a second chance to show RSL and Major League Soccer what he was made of.
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When Plata first heard he was heading to Salt Lake, he didn’t know much about the city, but the team is what drew his attention.
“I didn’t know anything about the city but I knew about the team,” Plata said Tuesday after practice. “I knew that it was it team that was very good and that’s why I’m here.”
Plata is now comfortable in Utah, a place that he gladly calls home. He has quickly become an ambassador of the franchise. When Luis Silva, a former teammate of Plata’s, was recently acquired in a trade with D.C. United, Plata made it a point to invite his friend to hang out before the Houston match.
Plata said that, “a lot of people ask me, ‘how’s the city? What’s it like?’ and I tell them that it’s very beautiful and very relaxed and that the team is very good,” Plata said.
Plata has recorded 18 goals and 17 assists for the Claret & Cobalt in the two and a half years since his arrival. He had a career year in 2014, logging 13 goals and six assists. It was his best season as a professional.
Plata was poised to continue his growth from the year before when he suffered a frustrating setback during the preseason. Plata fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. A day later, RSL announced that they had signed Plata to a multi-year extension, making him one of the team’s young Designated Players.
Due to the injury, Plata was forced to sit out the first 11 games of the season. RSL's attack suffered as a result.
He has since worked his way back into form and finally scored his first league goal of the season, a beautiful give-and-go sequence between him and Javier Morales that iced a 2-0 victory over the Dynamo last weekend. Plata gestured to his wrist in the ensuing celebration as if to say, “about time.”
“When he’s hot, when he’s hungry and scoring, he can be the best player on our team,” RSL midfielder, Luke Mulholland, said. “[The media] asked me a couple of weeks ago what it would take for Plata to reach where he was last year and I said it would take one goal and then I’m sure the floodgates would open. So no pressure on Plata now, but hopefully he bangs a half dozen goals in over the next month or so.”
Plata says that he is 100% physically fit and his recent play certainly is evidence of that. RSL head coach Jeff Cassar knew that the goal would come sooner or later.
“I think it’s great for him to get the ball in the back of the net,” Cassar said. “He’s been this close for the last five games. Nothing was different, this ball just happened to go in. Hopefully he feels confident that every time he gets on the ball, he can be very dangerous because the last five games he’s done fantastic, just hadn’t scored.”
Plata has become a hometown favorite, with his infectious energy and entertaining dance celebrations after every goal. He understands how important his role has become and how much the team needs him, and he takes it all in stride.
“I feel really calm. I know that all of my teammates are here to support the team. I hope to give a lot more to the team and score a lot more goals so that the team can bring home another championship.”
