Joao Jimmy Plata Cotera (Spanish pronunciation: [joˈaw ˈplata];[1] born March 1, 1992) is an Ecuadorian footballer who plays as a forward for C.D.

Plata began his career in the youth ranks of hometown club Barcelona before joining the Alfaro Moreno Academia in Guayaquil in 2009.

[5][6] Plata ended the season appearing in 7 league matches (starting 5) and scoring one goal as Liga captured the Second Stage of the 2010 Serie A and then defeated Emelec to be declared national champion for the 10th time in the club's history.

[10] For the second leg on May 4, Plata again made the starting line-up and provided an assist as well as receiving Man of the Match honours in a 1–0 home win, giving Toronto a 4–0 aggregate victory over FC Edmonton to advance to the Canadian Championship final.

[13] On July 2 Plata scored a crucial goal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC helping seal Toronto's third consecutive Canadian Championship, earning the team a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.

[28] Early in the 2019 season, he played a match with RSL's B team, Real Monarchs in the second tier USL Championship, scoring in a 4-1 victory against Reno 1868.

[39] Plata was called up for friendlies against the United States and El Salvador, in the game against El Salvador Plata scored two goals in a 5–1 win over El Salvador Standing at 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in), Plata is the shortest player in MLS history, alongside Cristian Techera[40][41] and Yeferson Soteldo;[42][43] although not physically imposing, his small stature, combined with his low centre of gravity and resulting balance, make him extremely agile, and allow him to change direction very quickly in tight spaces, while his strong legs allow him to excel in short bursts of speed.

[44][45] In addition to his mobility and elusiveness, Plata is an extremely quick and dynamic player, who is known for his great acceleration over short distances, and his pace on the ball, as well as his dribbling ability and technical skills.

[44][45][46][47] A creative forward, Plata is an accurate finisher, and is capable of both scoring and assisting goals, which allows him to play in several offensive positions: although he has been used as a striker or as a supporting forward, his favoured role is on the left wing, a position which allows him to move out wide to receive the ball, beat players on the dribble, and subsequently cut into the middle of the pitch on his stronger right foot to either shoot on goal or set up his teammates.