GIOVINCO, ALTIDORE PROVING THEY’RE AS CLUTCH AS EVER
League’s most dangerous attacking tandem has been just as lethal for TFC in playoffs
Numbers matter insofar as they bear results.
Case in point: Sebastian Giovinco’s remarkable MVP season, arguably the best individual campaign in MLS history, was memorable, but not what Toronto FC’s top player will be remembered for.
You probably can’t recall how many goals and assists the Atomic Ant produced before that forgettable playoff loss at Montreal’s Saputo Stadium.
Giovinco’s record-setting 2015 feels like a blip compared to what we witnessed last month in Monterrey, Mexico.
His big game form — in the Canadian Championship, MLS playoffs and Champions League — has been remarkable despite his numbers falling off year over year.
That alone should give TFC supporters hope ahead of Tuesday night’s meeting with Club America.
Coach Greg Vanney called Giovinco’s recent form “unbelievable” after referring to Jozy Altidore as “one of the best” in MLS.
He forgot the most appropriate adjective: Clutch.
It’s why the Reds are where they are in 2018.
Toronto’s key players — the million-dollar Designated Players — haven’t just been good. Good was happening long before Giovinco produced the seriesclinching free kick that silenced Tigres’ Estadio Universitario.
Toronto’s best players have been, as Vanney put it, “outstanding ” when they needed to be.
And it must happen again if TFC is to survive another series against Mexican opposition.
Giovinco and Altidore have combined for three goals and three assists through four pressure-packed Champions League games.
The league’s most dangerous attacking tandem have been just as lethal in the playoffs, combining for 12 goals and nine assists since 2017.
Finally, Giovinco’s Canadian Championship brace ultimately delivered TFC its historic treble.
Toronto FC’s big names — including Michael Bradley and Victor Vazquez — continue to raise their level when the chips are down and the brightest lights are on.
This after all of the above were deemed “overpaid,” though I’m told it’s unlikely MLSE top boss Larry Tanenbaum sees it the same way.
The return on investment has stunned everyone — including now-departed patriarch Tim Leiweke.
The question now is whether that return can grow exponentially after sensible viewers and prognosticators saw last month’s Champions League quarter-final as Toronto FC’s ceiling.
However, it’s not a stretch to say TFC enters its series against Club America with better attacking players. Frenchman Jeremy Menez is injured and Darwin Quintero recently moved to Minnesota United.
It’s another must-not-lose Cup fixture for a TFC side that’s 11-1-2 at BMO Field in all Cup competitions since 2016.
It doesn’t matter how clutch TFC’s top players have been. As we saw in Monterrey, TFC can’t afford to travel to Estadio Azteca for next week’s return leg in need of a win.
What’s different about this fixture, though, is the Reds have belief they can go on and win this series after navigating an intense quarter-final with Tigres.
They know they have a player in Giovinco who has a recent track record of showing up in big games alongside Altidore, whose recent form reportedly put him on Club America’s transfer target list.
Clutch performances are impossible to ignore.
The Reds just need a few more.
Toronto FC’s big names ... continue to raise their level when the chips are down and the brightest lights are on.