Impact to defend in numbers against extra-motivated TFC star Giovinco

MONTREAL – Sebastian Giovinco was miffed at being left off the list of finalists for Major League Soccer’s most valuable player award and at being snubbed by Italian national team coach Giampiero Ventura for a pair of international matches last week.

But the Toronto FC scoring machine may be extra-motivated to play in the MLS Eastern Conference final against the Montreal Impact, the team that routed TFC 3-0 in the knockout round of playoffs last season.

He vowed this week to try to “change that memory,” and that may make stopping an already ornery Giovinco an even tougher task for the Impact.

“He’s dangerous as it is,” said Montreal goalkeeper Evan Bush. “He’s probably the top player in the league, so we don’t think he’ll be any more dangerous than he would be if he wasn’t motivated.

“We’re going to have to do everything we can to put numbers around him and try to take him out of the game as much as possible.”

When the Impact play host to Toronto in the opening game of the two-game series Tuesday night before a huge crowd at Olympic Stadium, the first priority will be to contain the visitors’ five-foot-four forward. The return leg is Nov. 30 in Toronto.

The Atomic Ant has terrorized opposing defences since he joined TFC as a free agent from Italian giant Juventus in January, 2015, scoring 43 goals in 65 regular-season and playoff matches. The 29-year-old was named league MVP last season with 22 goals and 16 assists in 33 games and somehow was left off the list this year despite 17 goals and 15 assists in only 28 games. He has added four goals and three assists in three playoff games.

Giovinco can score by using his speed to chase down passes from the back or by dribbling through defences around the 18-yard box, where he also draws fouls leading to free kicks and penalties.

And he also has built a productive partnership with big striker Jozy Altidore, who profits from the attention the Italian draws from opposing defences.

Montreal coach Mauro Biello is aware of the challenge Giovinco represents.

“With players like that, you think you could be doing a great job for 90 minutes and then all of a sudden there’s a stroke of magic out of nowhere,” said Biello. “That’s the beauty of the game, but that’s also the focus and concentration we need to have in this game.

“You cannot sleep for one second if you want to get where you want. And if you think ‘We’re OK and I can rest,’ no. You have to be ready for everything. What’s going to make you win is having that focus for 90 minutes against a player like Giovinco, who is one of the best players in the league and who could turn the game in his favour in a moment.”

Giovinco scored both goals in a 2-0 Toronto win at Montreal in April. While he was held without a goal in two later meetings, he put a free kick off the crossbar and set up Tosaint Rickett’s late strike to earn a 2-2 draw in Montreal on Oct. 16. In that match, he returned from an adductor injury suffered in Montreal’s 1-0 win in Toronto on Aug. 27.

In five games since his return, he has five goals, including a hat-trick at Yankee Stadium in a 5-0 win over New York City to clinch their conference semifinal.

The Impact counter with one of the league’s top central defenders in Laurent Ciman, but it takes a group effort to stop Giovinco. Fullbacks Ambroise Oyongo and Hassoun Camara and defender Victor Cabrera will be busy, and the play of the three centre midfielders, especially Italian veteran Marco Donadel who lines up in front of the defence, has been key in efforts to keep him to the outside.

Shutting down Giovinco completely may be impossible, but they hope at least to limit his chances.

“This is something that’s shared; it’s not just one player on him,” said Biello. “Against a player like that, you need cover from the side, from the front.

“You don’t want to give him space. We’ve been watching video over and over and the games where he’s been most frustrated are the ones where he has numbers around him and where he doesn’t get space to operate.”

Of course, when there’s no open shot, Giovinco is also adept at slipping the ball to Altidore.

As Montreal forward Matteo Mancosu cautioned: “He’s a very good player but they’ve got a good team and he’s not the only player we have to watch.”