When it comes to Juventus few people are better equipped to tell you all you need to know than Adam Digby. Author of Juventus: A History In Black And White, Digby gave torontofc.ca the low down on Sebastian Giovinco. You can follow Adam on Twitter here.
Official confirmation came at a press conference on Monday that Juventus striker and current Italy international Sebastian Giovinco will join Toronto FC. He has agreed to a lucrative four-year deal with the MLS outfit, making the move when his contract with the Bianconeri expires in June. It was the kind of story that modern media has almost completely marginalised; a shock transfer swoop that left supporters and observers on both sides open-mouthed. In an era dominated by twenty-four hour news cycles and with social media being constantly ahead of the game, a deal being struck from seemingly nowhere has becoming increasingly rare.
There were whispers of course, a number of outlets claiming the player’s agent was visiting the Canadian club and preparing the ground for Giovinco to make the leap last week. Yet when the announcement came, it still took many by surprise and clearly represents a coup for Greg Vanney’s side who also recently replaced Jermaine Defoe with Jozy Altidore. Quite what Toronto FC will receive for their investment remains open to interpretation, with the 27 year old’s playing style, ability and suitability extremely difficult to understand.
Born just outside Turin into a family of Milan supporters, Giovinco joined the youth sector of Juventus at nine years of age, progressing rapidly through the various levels at his home-town club. Reaching the Primavera – then Italy’s Under-20 level – he helped the Bianconeri to win back-to-back titles at the prestigious Viareggio Tournament and the 2006 national championship.
With the team relegated to Serie B as part of their punishment for the Calciopoli scandal later that year, he was one of a number of youth team players promoted to the first team, making his full debut in May 2007, marking the occasion with a neat assist to David Trezeguet. Promotion back to the top flight came easily, but Giovinco would spend the following season with Empoli, netting six goals for the Tuscan side and garnering nationwide attention with an excellent free kick against Roma.
Returning to Turin, he would score four times over the next two years, finding himself marginalised as his inability to play his natural position became noticeable for the first time. He built a hugely inflated reputation on an incredible thirty minute cameo against Chelsea in the Champions League, his status as a home-grown player making him widely popular with supporters. Yet while his diminutive stature – he stands just 5’ 5” (1.64m) tall and weighs around 60kg – may have earned him his nickname ‘The Atomic Ant’ after the eponymous cartoon character, it also saw him bullied out of the playmaking role he demanded to play.
A move to Parma in the summer of 2010 would see him reinvent himself, playing out wide under first Pasquale Marino, then exploding under Franco Colomba a year later. In a stunning 2011-12 campaign he would record fifteen goals and eleven assists, serving up timely reminders to his parent club of just how good he could be. Clashes against the Bianconeri brought the best from him, scoring twice in a 4-1 win on his first return to Turin then netting the only goal of the game in a narrow win for Parma, before scoring his side’s late consolation as Juventus Stadium opened with a crushing victory for the home side.
Once again recalled – at great financial outlay by Italian football’s grand Old Lady – Giovinco would make a career high 42 appearances in 2012-13, netting eleven goals in all competitions and winning the trust of Antonio Conte. He played thirty games last term, though his playing time was understandably reduced following the arrival of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente. During a game last February he was booed from the field after a poor performance – the Turin crowd no longer tolerating his wildly fluctuating performances – but the coach would put an arm around him in a public display of solidarity with the player.
Conte’s shocking departure and the appointment of Massimiliano Allegri this summer has seen his role reduced to almost nothing, finding himself behind Alvaro Morata and Kingsley Coman in the pecking order. The new boss appears to have little faith in the diminutive striker, resulting in Giovinco being on the field for a total of just 180 minutes before last week’s Italian Cup clash with Hellas Verona, where he was handed only his third start of the campaign.
Having bemoaned the lack of opportunity to showcase his value, he would need just five minutes to do so against the Gialloblu, stroking home a free kick that the goalkeeper probably should have saved. But the goal ignited him, playing with intensity he so often has lacked as he repeatedly took on defenders and laid on chances for his team-mates. A second goal would follow just before half-time, only to see him substituted for Coman after 65 minutes, and the French youngster would upstage Giovinco somewhat with a stunning strike that marked his first professional goal.
Despite looking quick and possessing good acceleration from a standing start, the Italian lacks the speed of his contemporaries, making him something of a throwback to an age where nonchalant playmakers wore the number ten shirt and strolled around the pitch in search of space. The modern game has all but eradicated that style of play, forcing him to adapt and evolve into a second striker and the cup tie showed how good he can be when utilised correctly. Playing just off Morata, he could pick holes between the central defender and full back, rather than struggling with the physical demands of being used in deeper role.
His lack of playing time at club level stands in stark contrast to his continual presence on the international scene, with Conte’s role as the new Italy coach seeing their relationship continue to blossom. Having made just nine Juve appearances in all competitions, he has featured for almost as many minutes with the Azzurri, a strange juxtaposition for any player and it remains to be seen how that will be affected by a move to MLS at just 28 years old.
With chances in Turin severely limited, taking such a huge payday from Toronto FC is understandable, though the club will hope he is still motivated by more than mere financial gain. At his best he is an intelligent distributor with excellent one-on-one skills, capable of creating goals or scoring himself while being deadly accurate from set-pieces. His physical flaws make him a unique talent, one that will require a strong coach to push and prompt him to play where and how he can best impact a match.
Sebastian Giovinco may not be the biggest star, but his signing represents a coup for both Toronto and MLS as a whole, one which could prove hugely beneficial for all concerned.
