Trinidad and Tobago footballer
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 .[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] In July 2014 he signed for Belgian club Visé .[ 6]
In December 2015, Plaza signed a deal to join Salvadoran Primera División side Alianza in January 2016.[ 7] [ 8] [ 9] In 2016, he returned to San Juan Jabloteh .[ 3]
East Bengal
In January 2017, Plaza signed for Indian I-League club East Bengal .[ 10] 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 .[ 11]
On 4 July 2017, it was announced that the club had retained Plaza for the upcoming season.[ 12] In January 2018, he was released by the club.[ 13] [ 14]
Mohammedan/Churchill Brothers
It was announced that Willis would sign for Mohammedan from 8 February 2018.[ 15] [ 16] He then moved to Churchill Brothers in March 2018.[ 17] He won the golden boot of the 2018–19 I-League season, with 21 goals.[ 18] [ 19] [ 20]
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.[ 21] Later he was included in Churchill's squad for remaining matches of the Goa Professional League .[ 22]
He was retained by Churchill Brothers for the 2019 season.[ 23] In April 2019 he moved on loan to Bashundhara Kings .[ 24]
In July 2020, he returned to Mohammedan .[ 25]
Delhi FC
In August 2021, he signed with Minerva Delhi FC [ 26] and appeared in the 130th edition of Durand Cup .[ 27] Plaza later appeared in the 2021 I-League Qualifiers , in which they finished on third position.[ 28]
Aizawl
On 25 November 2021, Plaza moved to Aizawl FC , ahead of the 2021–22 I-League season.[ 29] [ 30]
Bhawanipore
He signed for Bhawanipore in June 2022.[ 31] He helped his team winning Naihati Gold Cup with scoring a brace in their 4–0 win against United Sports .[ 32]
International career
He made his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago on 22 January 2012.[ 33] [ 34]
Personal life
Plaza has said that his ancestors lived in the southern part of the Indian city of Kolkata .[ 35] 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.[ 36]
Career statistics
International
Statistics accurate as of match played 3 June 2016 [ 34]
International goals
As of match played 3 June 2016. Trinidad & Tobago score listed first, score column indicates score after each Plaza goal. [ 3]
Honours
Bhawanipore
Individual
References
^ http://www.socawarriors.net/mens-senior-team/senior-team-news/player-pool.html?view=matchfixtures&pid=583&goals=1 [permanent dead link ]
^ "Willis Plaza :: Willis Deon Plaza :: Churchill Brothers" . www.ceroacero.es . Retrieved 19 August 2018 .
^ a b c Willis Plaza at Soccerway. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
^ "Plaza on target in Sai Gon" . Soca Warriors. 23 May 2012. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2012 .
^ Shaun Fuentes (6 July 2012). "Promising times for Plaza in Vietnam" . Soca Warriors.
^ "Deux internationaux signent au CS Visé" . 23 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014 .
^ "Alianza contrató al trinitario Willis Plaza" . elgrafico.com (in Spanish). el Grafico. 29 December 2015. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016 .
^ "Willis Plaza, nuevo refuerzo albo" . El Salvador FC. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2016 .
^ "Alianza desmiente racismo contra Willis Plaza - Goal.com" . 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016 .
^ " 'Foreign' boost for East Bengal ahead of I-League opener" . Times of India. 5 January 2017. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2017 .
^ "East Bengal beat DSK Shivajians 2–1 in I-League" . Times of India. 14 January 2017. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2017 .
^ "East Bengal reinforce strike force with Willis Plaza signing" . Goal. 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2017 .
^ "ইস্টবেঙ্গলে শেষ প্লাজার ইনিংস [Plaza's innings at East Bengal comes to an end]" (in Bengali). Anandabazar Patrika. 21 January 2018. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018 .
^ Now, Khel (21 January 2018). "East Bengal release Willis Plaza after Kolkata Derby debacle" . khelnow.com . Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019 .
^ "প্লাজা এবার মহামেডানে" (in Bengali). mohammedansportingindia.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018 .{{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link )
^ "Bayi Kamo looking forward to playing with Willis Plaza at Mohammedan Sporting – Times of India" . The Times of India . Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2019 .
^ "I-League 2017–18: Former East Bengal striker Willis Plaza replaces Siyo at Churchill Brothers" . goal.com . Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018 .
^ Dutta, Raja (29 March 2019). "The 2018/19 I-League End of Season Awards | Sportsbeatsindia" . Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021 .
^ "The 2018/19 I-League End of Season Awards" . The Away End . 13 March 2019. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021 .
^ "Chennai City Crowned I-League 2018-19 Champions After Win Against Minerva Punjab" . Press Trust of India (PTI) . NDTV . 9 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020 .
^ "Super Cup 2018: Plaza brace fires Churchill past Delhi to qualify for pre-quarters" . goal.com . Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018 .
^ "Churchill Brothers come from a goal down to beat Corps of Signals in GPL" . khelnow.com. 24 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018 .
^ "I-League 2018–19: Willis Plaza reveals the reason for his sensational comeback" . www.sportskeeda.com . 16 February 2019. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019 .
^ "Indian Football Transfers: Willis Plaza moves to Bangladeshi side Bashundhara Kings on loan from Churchill Brothers" . sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019 .
^ Scroll Staff. "I-League second division club Mohammedan Sporting sign Willis Plaza from Churchill Brothers" . Scroll.in .
^ "Delhi FC on Instagram: "Reinforcements have arrived in Delhi with a familiar look" " . Instagram . Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2021 .
^ ANI (22 September 2021). "Durand Cup: Delhi FC beats Kerala Blasters 1-0, reaches quarterfinals" . Sportstar . Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2021 .
^ "I-League 2019-20: Aser Dipanda brace helps Punjab FC sink Gokulam Kerala" . www.goal.com . 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2020 .
^ Aizawl FC official Archived 26 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine Twitter.com . Retrieved 26 November 2021.
^ "Primus, Plaza join India's Aizawl FC" . trinidadexpress.com . Trinidad Express (Daily) . 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022 .
^ "খালিদ জামিলের ইস্টবেঙ্গলের সুপার স্ট্রাইকার! ঝড় তুলতে ফের আসছেন কলকাতায়" . Archived from the original on 10 October 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022 .
^ 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 from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022 .
^ "Profile" . Soca Warriors.
^ a b "Willis Plaza" . National Football Teams . Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 3 June 2016 .
^ "East Bengal striker Willis Plaza reveals his ancestors used to live in Kolkata" . My Khel. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017 .
^ "East Bengal striker Willis Plaza recalls his cricket days with Sunil Narine" . My Khel. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017 .
^ Sports Desk, Kolkata 24x7 (14 August 2022). "নৈহাটী গোল্ড কাপ: প্লাজার জোড়া গোল, চ্যাম্পিয়ন জায়ান্ট কিলার ভবানীপুর" [Naihati Gold Cup: Plaza doubles, champions Giant Killer Bhawanipore]. kolkata24x7.in (in Bengali). Kolkata 24×7. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022 . {{cite web }}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link )
^ "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 from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022 .
^ "From the History Book" . All India Football Federation . the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2018 .
^ "Players–Goals" . Soccerway . Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018 .
^ "Chennai City sweep I-League awards" . theshillongtimes.com . The Shillong Times. 21 March 2019. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020 .
External links