Sebastian Giovinco is on the cusp of his second winter with Toronto FC. For professional athletes playing away from their country of birth, this time of year can be challenging as thoughts of home are heightened in the run-up to the holidays. The 2015 MVP breaks into his now trademark grin when asked about what he misses from Italy, saying he’s looking forward to the holidays but is hoping they don’t come anytime soon.
“Right now I’m focused on the end of the season,” said Giovinco on Tuesday at the KIA Training Ground. “I hope and trust it will last as long as possible.”
TFC, who haven’t played since winning 5-0 in New York on November 6, are one week out from the first leg of the Eastern Conference Final against Montreal Impact at an almost sold-out Olympic Stadium. If the Reds make it past their fierce rivals, the team’s last game of the season will be the MLS Cup Final on December 10, at a frigid BMO Field or in Denver if Colorado Rapids come out of the West.
“It’s a long break between two such important games but the intensity and the mindset should not change at this point,” said the 29-year-old Italian.
At the business end of the season, motivation is aplenty in Toronto thanks to memories of a playoff defeat in Montreal last year, more than one MLS award snub and deep pockets of experience within the squad. Head coach Greg Vanney describes his mindset as “even-keeled,” believing that remaining calm and focused allows he and his staff to make the most appropriate tactical and strategic adjustments based on the opponent and game at hand. He leaves it to his players to bring the passion.
“The coach is extremely important as a reference point for everybody,” said Giovinco, who has 17 goals and 15 assists on the season. “It’s where everything starts but in the end, the game is played by the players.”
Equally important, in off-season recruits Drew Moor and Will Johnson, TFC has two players who understand what it takes at this stage of the campaign.
“We’ve gone out and found players who have the mindset of winning something and anything between here and there is not a job completed,” said Vanney. “Our goal is to try and be the last team standing on the last day of play.”
Giovinco said it is not possible or indeed fair to compare the rivalry with Montreal, set to live its most significant chapter to date, but he’s looking forward to playing in front of more than 50,000 under the roof.
“It’s a show,” said Giovinco, who has four career goals against the Impact. “The more people in attendance, the better for us.
“Everybody remembers last year. We’re going to go there with that precise mentality, to change that memory.”
To the surprise of many, the five-foot-four striker was left off a three-player shortlist for 2016 MVP.
“When I believe I deserve something, it doesn’t make me happy I’m not in the top three,” said Giovinco on Tuesday. “It is a motivation among the many others."
“We are at the most important stage of the playoffs and that is all my mind is focused on, MLS Cup.”
It would appear there’s only one thing the Italian wants for the holidays this year.
