Toronto FC's Joao Plata battles for the ball with Houston Dynamo's Jevaughn Watson (right) and Bobby Boswell during their game on Saturday. Plata scored in the game and was named MLS player of the week for his efforts. (REUTERS)
Toronto FC’s roster reconfiguration continued on Wednesday when the Reds traded a fan favourite to Real Salt Lake for a second round draft pick in 2015.
Joao Plata, TFC’s bite-sized burner, who gained the endearment of fans as the club’s most exciting player in space, exits following a strange 2012 that saw him loaned out to Ecuador’s LDU Quito.
When the Toronto Sun sat down with former TFC bench boss Paul Mariner in November, the Englishman insinuated the young, 5-foot-2 Ecuadorian was in his plans in 2013.
Things change — and fast.
“While Plata is a player our fans enjoyed watching, he did not figure in our plans moving forward,” TFC president and general manager Kevin Payne said in a release. “It made sense for our club to move him for value as we can continue to build the team we want.”
