Giovinco’s presence has ripple effect

Exclusion from Italy’s Euro roster big boost for Babouli

The obvious silver lining of striker Sebastian Giovinco’s exclusion from Italy’s Euro 2016 squad earlier this week is that Toronto FC retains its most valuable player.

Take a more nuanced look at the situation, and Giovinco remaining with the Reds for the month of June is of particular benefit to one player — forward Mo Babouli.

“For Mo, probably two days ago he might have been in a way our one striker,” coach Greg Vanney said after Italian coach Antonio Conte left Giovinco off the team for next month’s tournament in France.

With forward Jozy Altidore out with another long-term hamstring injury, Giovinco’s absence would have placed the bulk of Toronto’s attacking responsibility squarely on Babouli’s shoulders.

That’s a lot of pressure for a 23year-old who only just signed his first professional contract in March and has yet to tally his first Major League Soccer goal.

Babouli had a man of the match performance against Columbus Crew in Toronto’s 0-0 draw last weekend, but much of his success comes from a still-blossoming relationship with the Italian. To lose Giovinco for more than a month would have certainly stunted the Reds’ offence.

“Seba, I think, is Mo’s biggest fan in terms of what he’s capable of doing and is very instrumental in helping Mo on the field and some of the nuances out there in terms of his positioning, spaces he takes up on the field and how they can work together,” Vanney said.

Babouli and Giovinco have built a solid relationship in training but have only started together up front three times this season.

After back-to-back game alongside one another, Babouli believes they have started showing sparks of a concrete partnership.

He hopes they can continue to do so, starting with Saturday’s visit to New York Red Bulls.

“I feel like me and Seba play a similar style. We’re both very small so we like to get on the ball, get it at out feet. We don’t challenge much in the air so for us it’s always looking on the floor. For me, that makes it easier.”

That’s not necessarily the case for his teammates, though.

The change in landscape upfront for the Reds — from a bulky six-foot striker who masters hold-up play and distracting opposing defenders to the more diminutive, technical Babouli — is something Toronto hasn’t quite adjusted to yet, midfielder Will Johnson said.

Toronto has to figure out how to be more aggressive in attack without Altidore, giving Giovinco more support upfront. The Italian was the only Reds player with a shot in last Saturday’s 0-0 draw with the Columbus Crew.

Babouli, Johnson said, has shown flashes of the ability to be that support, but his teammates want to see even more of that quality.

“Obviously if you’re going to play up front we need some goals and I think that’s kind of what I’m talking about when I refer to the fact that when Jozy’s out we need a little more production. Even if you’re a young guy, when you’re playing up front we need a goal or two.”

Babouli and his teammates will hope those goals start to come in New Jersey on Saturday night, against a Red Bulls team coming off a 7-0 victory last weekend over New York City FC.