Willis Plaza
FullnameWillis Deon Plaza
Birth date3 August 1987 (age 39)
Birth placeMount Hope, Trinidad and Tobago
PositionForward
Years 12010–2012
Clubs 1San Juan Jabloteh
Years 22012
Clubs 2Navibank Sài Gòn
Caps 212
Goals 25
Years 32012–2013
Clubs 3Sông Lam Nghệ An
Caps 318
Goals 34
Years 42014
Clubs 4Central FC
Years 52014–2015
Clubs 5Visé
Caps 56
Goals 53
Years 62015–2016
Clubs 6Central FC
Years 72016
Clubs 7Alianza
Years 82016
Clubs 8San Juan Jabloteh
Years 92017–2018
Clubs 9East Bengal
Caps 924
Goals 911
Years 102018
Clubs 10Mohammedan
Years 112018–2020
Clubs 11Churchill Brothers
Caps 1135
Goals 1129
Years 122020
Clubs 12→ Bashundhara Kings (loan)
Years 132020–2021
Clubs 13Mohammedan
Years 142021
Clubs 14Delhi
Years 152021–2022
Clubs 15Aizawl
Caps 1511
Goals 152
Years 162022–2023
Clubs 16Bhawanipore
Nationalyears 12012–
Nationalteam 1Trinidad and Tobago[1]
Nationalcaps 123
Nationalgoals 17

Willis Deon Plaza (born 3 August 1987) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a forward.

Club career

Early years

In his early career, Plaza played club football in Trinidad and Vietnam for San Juan Jabloteh, Navibank Sài Gòn and Sông Lam Nghệ An, Central FC.[2][3][4] In July 2014 he signed for Belgian club Visé.[5]

In December 2015, Plaza signed a deal to join Salvadoran Primera División side Alianza in January 2016.[6][7][8] In 2016, he returned to San Juan Jabloteh.[2]

East Bengal

In January 2017, Plaza signed for Indian I-League club East Bengal.[9] On 14 January, he scored his first goal for the club, scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute of a 2–1 victory against DSK Shivajians.[10]

On 4 July 2017, it was announced that the club had retained Plaza for the upcoming season.[11] In January 2018, he was released by the club.[12][13]

Mohammedan/Churchill Brothers

It was announced that Willis would sign for Mohammedan from 8 February 2018.[14][15] He then moved to Churchill Brothers in March 2018.[16] He won the golden boot of the 2018–19 I-League season, with 21 goals.[17][18][19]

He scored a brace for Churchill in their Indian Super Cup qualifier against Delhi Dynamos and helped his side to advance in to the final round of the tournament.[20] Later he was included in Churchill's squad for remaining matches of the Goa Professional League.[21]

He was retained by Churchill Brothers for the 2019 season. In April 2019 he moved on loan to Bashundhara Kings.[citation needed]

In July 2020, he returned to Mohammedan.[22]

Delhi FC

In August 2021, he signed with Minerva Delhi FC[23] and appeared in the 130th edition of Durand Cup.[24] Plaza later appeared in the 2021 I-League Qualifiers, in which they finished on third position.[25]

Aizawl

On 25 November 2021, Plaza moved to Aizawl FC, ahead of the 2021–22 I-League season.[26][27]

Bhawanipore

He signed for Bhawanipore in June 2022.[28] He helped his team winning Naihati Gold Cup with scoring a brace in their 4–0 win against United Sports.[29]

International career

He made his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago on 22 January 2012.[30][31]

Personal life

Plaza has said that his ancestors lived in the southern part of the Indian city of Kolkata.[32] During his school days, Plaza played cricket and was a friend of West Indian international Sunil Narine. In an interview, he said that Narine was his close friend and both of them idolised Brian Lara. He also said that he started playing football on the advice of his coach.[33]

Career statistics

International

Trinidad and Tobago national team
YearAppsGoals
201264
201331
201420
201570
201632
Total217

Statistics accurate as of match played 3 June 2016[31]

International goals

As of match played 3 June 2016. Trinidad & Tobago score listed first, score column indicates score after each Plaza goal.[2]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
129 February 2012Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda2Antigua and Barbuda4–04–0Friendly
210 October 2012Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis3French Guiana4–14–12012 Caribbean Cup
314 October 2012Warner Park Sporting Complex, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis5Anguilla8–010–02012 Caribbean Cup
49–0
55 September 2013King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia8United Arab Emirates1–33–3Friendly
63 June 2016Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Qinhuangdao, China23China1–32–4Friendly
72–3

Honours

Bhawanipore

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  2. ^
  3. ^ "Plaza on target in Sai Gon". Soca Warriors. 23 May 2012. Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  4. ^ Shaun Fuentes (6 July 2012). "Promising times for Plaza in Vietnam". Soca Warriors.
  5. ^ "Deux internationaux signent au CS Visé". 23 July 2014. Archived 26 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Alianza contrató al trinitario Willis Plaza" (in Spanish). elgrafico.com. el Grafico. 29 December 2015. Archived 23 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Willis Plaza, nuevo refuerzo albo". El Salvador FC. Archived 24 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  8. ^ "Alianza desmiente racismo contra Willis Plaza - Goal.com". 6 May 2016. Archived 12 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  9. ^ "'Foreign' boost for East Bengal ahead of I-League opener". Times of India. 5 January 2017. Archived 31 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ^ "East Bengal beat DSK Shivajians 2–1 in I-League". Times of India. 14 January 2017. Archived 5 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  11. ^ "East Bengal reinforce strike force with Willis Plaza signing". Goal. 4 July 2017. Archived 15 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  12. ^ "ইস্টবেঙ্গলে শেষ প্লাজার ইনিংস [Plaza's innings at East Bengal comes to an end]" (in Bengali). Anandabazar Patrika. 21 January 2018. Archived 24 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  13. ^ Now, Khel (21 January 2018). "East Bengal release Willis Plaza after Kolkata Derby debacle". khelnow.com. Archived 16 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  14. ^ "প্লাজা এবার মহামেডানে" (in Bengali). mohammedansportingindia.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  15. ^ "Bayi Kamo looking forward to playing with Willis Plaza at Mohammedan Sporting – Times of India". The Times of India. Archived 20 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  16. ^ "I-League 2017–18: Former East Bengal striker Willis Plaza replaces Siyo at Churchill Brothers". goal.com. Archived 9 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  17. ^ Dutta, Raja (2019-03-29). "The 2018/19 I-League End of Season Awards | Sportsbeatsindia". Archived 20 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  18. ^ "The 2018/19 I-League End of Season Awards". The Away End. 2019-03-13. Archived 7 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  19. ^ "Chennai City Crowned I-League 2018-19 Champions After Win Against Minerva Punjab". Press Trust of India (PTI). NDTV. 9 March 2019. Archived 27 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Super Cup 2018: Plaza brace fires Churchill past Delhi to qualify for pre-quarters". goal.com. Archived 16 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Churchill Brothers come from a goal down to beat Corps of Signals in GPL". khelnow.com. 24 March 2018. Archived 27 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  22. ^ Scroll Staff. "I-League second division club Mohammedan Sporting sign Willis Plaza from Churchill Brothers". Scroll.in
  23. ^ "Delhi FC on Instagram: "Reinforcements have arrived in Delhi with a familiar look"". Instagram. Archived 10 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  24. ^ ANI (22 September 2021). "Durand Cup: Delhi FC beats Kerala Blasters 1-0, reaches quarterfinals". Sportstar. Archived 22 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  25. ^ "I-League 2019-20: Aser Dipanda brace helps Punjab FC sink Gokulam Kerala". www.goal.com. 20 December 2019. Archived 3 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  26. ^ Aizawl FC official Archived 26 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine Twitter.com. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  27. ^ "Primus, Plaza join India's Aizawl FC". trinidadexpress.com. Trinidad Express (Daily). 22 February 2022. Archived 23 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  28. ^ "খালিদ জামিলের ইস্টবেঙ্গলের সুপার স্ট্রাইকার! ঝড় তুলতে ফের আসছেন কলকাতায়". Archived 10 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  29. ^ Singha, Sulaya (10 September 2022). "এক ম্যাচ বাকি থাকতেই গ্রুপ চ্যাম্পিয়ন হয়ে কলকাতা লিগের সুপার সিক্সে ভবানীপুর ক্লাব" [Bhawanipore Club became the group champion in Super Six of Calcutta League with one match left]. sangbadpratidin.in. Kolkata: Sangbad Pratidin Digital. Archived 19 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  30. ^ "Profile". Soca Warriors.
  31. ^
  32. ^ "East Bengal striker Willis Plaza reveals his ancestors used to live in Kolkata". My Khel. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  33. ^ "East Bengal striker Willis Plaza recalls his cricket days with Sunil Narine". My Khel. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  34. ^ "নৈহাটী গোল্ড কাপ: প্লাজার জোড়া গোল, চ্যাম্পিয়ন জায়ান্ট কিলার ভবানীপুর" [Naihati Gold Cup: Plaza doubles, champions Giant Killer Bhawanipore] (in Bengali). kolkata24x7.in. Kolkata 24×7. 14 August 2022. Archived 16 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  35. ^ "কলকাতা লিগ জয় মহামেডানের, টানা দু'বার খেতাব এল সাদা-কালো তাঁবুতে" [Mohammedan's Calcutta League win, the title came twice in a row in the black and white tent]. thewall.in. Kolkata: The Wall Bureau. 30 October 2022. Archived 31 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  36. ^ "From the History Book". All India Football Federation. the-aiff.com. Archived 17 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  37. ^ "Players–Goals". Soccerway. Archived 25 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  38. ^ "Chennai City sweep I-League awards". theshillongtimes.com. The Shillong Times. 21 March 2019. Archived 21 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 October 2020.