Should Toronto FC sign Sebastian Giovinco for the rest of the season?
It’s a question you wouldn’t have asked in February when Toronto FC kicked off the 2023 season with a rebuilt backline and belief that a full season of the Insigne and Bernardeschi show would vault TFC to the top of the table. But now, it’s the No. 1 question in our comments section.
Many Reds supporters were delighted at the sight of one of the most beloved players in club history back at the team’s training ground at Downsview Park this summer. Interim head coach Terry Dunfield revealed that Sebastian Giovinco wanted to see what he had left in the tank, as did the club.
As of last week, the Italian joined in on full team training sessions, having previously just used the facilities to train on his own.
Toronto FC have just seven games remaining this season, and more importantly, three home fixtures at BMO Field, beginning with a visit from Richie Laryea’s Vancouver Whitecaps on September 16 in the club’s return from the international break.
There will be a league-wide roster freeze for all MLS teams the day before that match, on September 15, according to the 2023 MLS Roster Rules and Regulations.
There’s no denying that Giovinco is a club legend, whose time in Toronto ended far sooner than many TFC fans wanted. He scored 68 goals in 114 appearances.
Would you want to see Seba back on the pitch at BMO one last time?
Would I want TFC to continue improvising, making boneheaded short- and long-term decisions? Would I want TFC to stubbornly stick to its “marketing first” mentality of signing European DPs in their mid-thirties exclusively while completely ignoring much younger, cheaper, and better players from South America for both DP and non-DP contracts? Would I want the club to keep its current scouting staff and president in light of the shit players and coaches they’ve identified and selected over the course of the past three years while refusing to change their approach every single time a new transfer window opens?
No.
Giovinco is the same age as Messi.
Víctor Vázquez is the same age as Messi, so what’s your point? Giovinco is not Messi… Not even close. What Messi does at 36 is an exception, not the rule.
Yes, Giovinco is no Messi. My point is, you can’t disqualify Giovinco based solely on his age. What is the downside of playing Giovinco for the last few games of this lost season?
He won’t be the Giovinco of 2016 or 2017, but would you agree that he is an upgrade to any of the attacking players TFC can field right now other than Insigne and Berna?
You and I are both upgrades over the attacking options the team has right now.
How can anyone think Giovinco signing till the end of this disastrous season is a bad idea? His mere presence would improve ball possession and forward movement on the pitch. Bring him on!
and spark the heart of the fans and mates.. ..He will come back most of what he was;.. this team needs a major spark like this.
If he can get fit….Why the Hell not !
Why is this question still being asked? If Seba still has the ability to help the team then sign him. LET HIM PLAY!
Said it years ago and I will say it again, older class players from the big 4 leagues can win in this league, we are seeing it now with Miami who are starting most matches with players averaging 32 years old, I do not want to gamble on the gents running this club finding young talent, the Soccer IQ just is not here with these guys. Bring Seba in, I am looking forward to shutting up the all the no minds that wrote off Seba.
How’s an older Insigne in his early 30’s doing? I mean you predicted he would win the scoring race when the season started. Is he even in the top 20 in scoring this season? I know his paycheck is top 5.
I am happy to see Seba back. I think he would be a great candidate to sub on in the second half.
The challenge with older players in the top 4 leagues playing in MLS is keeping them healthy (Messi is an execption). For one the travel in MLS is a lot more brutal then in Europe. And let’s not forget the condition of some of the pitches out there. Also MLS players may not have the talent, but they are bigger, faster and more physical then what you may see in the top 4 leagues.
Look at a guy like Victor Vasquez… Uber talented, but simply not healthy enough to make a difference. Last season look at at guy like Higuain struggle with injuries. Hell, even Insigne has struggled with injuries. Remember Blaise Matuidi (he left Juve after winning a Serie A title to join Miami) and was nothing special in MLS at age 33 that he retired by 35.
Older players are probably a bigger crap shoot then getting younger talents from South America (where if you screw up it won’t cost you as much).
In a capped league where you have 3 DP’s who are supposed to be the difference makers, having talented players who can stay healthy is huge.
I think Seba as a depth piece is a good addition, but we need to also have young players for when these older guys are injured. A cap challenges us in that regard.
Why even string him along by having him join full team training and then say, “Thanks for your service, but we’re not moving ahead with you on the squad.”??
In a season full of PR mishaps and general malaise about the state of the club, I think this is one thing they can do that will be welcomed by the vast majority of long-time supporters.
The answer is NO. Enough old players, enough problematic personalities. The reason of Giovinco leaving TFC was his poor performance during the season, and this was…years ago!!!
Send scouts to South America and bring decent, competitive, and unexpensive good players. Send the prime donne back home.
Give him a one year contract to play. He could be a good role model and inspire some of the younger guys.
I think Seba likes Toronto and probably wants to settle down here. It would be nice to hae some one who likes Toronto FC
GIve him a 3 month contract, pay him total USD 45 000.
USD 15 000 per month is a sensational pay for a guy who otherwise would be paid sh___it.
Why not? What better time to see if he’s got anything left than the last few games of a lost season?
And it gives the fans some sorely needed warm fuzzies.
si perche no lui a dato tutto per toronto,e voi avete detto tutti per uno e uno per tutti vuole rientrare daye fatelo .
Perche? Lui è troppo vecchio. Basta con la nostalgia.
SI DEVE GIOGARE SABATO CON PORENZO E BERNADESCHI, CI SARA UNA GRANDE DIFERENZA DAYE TOROBTO F,C,
In case you are not fluent in Italian (and to save you a trip to Google translate):
“yes why not he gave everything for Toronto, and you said all for one and one for all he wants to come back today and do it.”
and
“HE MUST PLAY ON SATURDAY WITH LORENZO AND BERNARDESCHI, THERE WILL BE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR TOROBTO F,C,”
Lol… That’s BRILLIANT! You translated TOROBTO to TOROBTO !!!
Generally, a lot of insightful posts on this site on all kinds of subjects…on this particular one…it is shocking to see how many here only remember the “fuzzies” or feel good stuff from that run where Seba was indeed our Club’s GOAT. How you all forget that for the last two seasons of Seba’s time here, he barely played 50% of our games due to injuries…if he’s had a drink from some fountain of youth that hasn’t been documented here, let’s have it…otherwise why is anyone thinking he’s going to stay fit this time around??? It’s ridiculous to think that 5 years on he’s going to last more than a couple of games before getting hurt…this has nothing to do with any game he may have left at this point…he’s not going to survive physically…let’s all remember him for how big he WAS for this Club…not what will transpire if he returns today…
I don’t think anyone (aside from maybe Mr. Burns) thinks he’s going to save the team.
I just want to see him in a TFC uniform a couple more times and maybe catch a glimpse of his former brilliance.
Is this post just you staying in character for the sake of your username? Because it’s hard to believe you really stand by all of what you stated.
You’d rather watch Kerr or Thompson running around in circles out there, than Giovinco actually playing with the DPs? Actually?
Actually.
LOVED Seba during his time here…he was worth the price of admission alone, even though that whole team was great. This roster is full of misused funds so yes to Kerr (no to Thompson). Kerr is the only forward that’s created anything with the two “DPs” since they arrived…in any event, we need to clear bad money and re-start…not add more bad money spent on aged players whose primes are in the rearview mirror…
Not sure where you are getting that Seba barely played 50% of our games. In his last season with TFC he started 26 games and appeared in 28 games playing over 2300 minutes in MLS (but that is also the year where he played 8 games in our CCL run, and two games in the Canadian Championships and Campeons cup). Basically he played over 3200 minutes in 2018 which was after a short less then 6 week break from the end of the 2017 season where he played over 2500 minutes (which was preceded by another season in 2016 where he played over 3100 minutes all the way into mid Dec).
I don’t know if you recall, but 2018 was the year where the entire team was decimated by injuries because of the heavy fixture congestion from 2016 to 2017 and the early start ot the season because of CCL. This was one of the reasons behind why MLS has moved the MLS cup up earlier into the year because player need time to recover before the start of the CCL and the following season.
Now having said all this, I am worried that Seba may struggle to stay healthy in MLS given his age and his inability to get healthy to play for Sampdoria last season. But coming of the bench I think he can be a difference maker. Have him come out for 30 minutes every game and we will have a dangerous team to for any opponent to finish against.
he should have been on the team last season as well, even if he didn’t play every game. He speaks Italian and still lives in the GTA he would have helped the (at the time) 3 Italian players and staff work better together.
But there was so much negative feedback about having all these ‘promising’ young players get time on the pitch which has amounted to TFC being in last place and another coaching change… all because Old Bradley said Giovinco didn’t fit in the team’s vision… LOL! Back to Norway for him
“Sebastian Giovinco is the Leo Messi of the MLS.”
(Greg Vanney, former manager of TFC)
Good joke, unless you have very poor concept of the MLS. There are at least 100 players better than Giovinco.
The club should open the doors to the housands of football lovers that are not Italian, and bring decent players from South America instead of old expensive and mediocre Italian players that atract only the Italian fans with nostalgia.
Wolfango you are not paying attention to what’s going on here!! In 2021 we signed a South American in Soltedo, I was at the game in late October 2021 against Philadelphia we had Bradley , Poz, Altidore and Oso on the pitch , no word of a lie there was not more then 500 in attendance, I have been to funerals that had more life! Insigne and Bernadeschi guarantee 20,000 season ticket holders, its a business first ! Remember that my good man.
Jack: In 2021 there were Covid restrictions which prevented TFC from allowing everyone who wanted to go to games. People did not stay away because of who was on the pitch. Also half the season was played in the US. Seems like you are trying to force your own narrative here by twisting the facts.
Oh really! Fan boy it seems that you have your own agenda here, on October 16 2021 the Toronto Maple Leafs played at Scotia Bank Arena in front of a capacity crowd of 18211, that Philadelphi TFC game in Oct 2021 was empty because the fans had enough of that crap soccer . MLSE knew that something had to done this town was not going to support this team any longer, Insigne was brought in and interest was restored.
In the summer of 2021, the season for TFC was over by the time the team came back to Canada. And there were fan attendence restrictions. TFC allowed seasons seat holders to carry their accounts into the following season if they did not want to attend any games. Most decided to take the credit and run because we weren’t going to make the play offs anyway. That was the second whammy to hit TFC along with attendence restrictions which were not lifted until late summer/early fall.
My agenda is the truth and if that bothers you, oh well!
And as your last line says… Its a business first! So its less about winning and more about shareholder return. Next time you are unhappy with the coach they have selected or the tactics we deploy, remember its a business first and winning is simply a nice to have.
Who know’s maybe we’ll bring Zlatan back out of retirement cause I’m sure he can score more the Insigne and Fede combined if someone gets the ball to him. This will fill the stadium too, won’t it!
Exactly ! Zlatan scores if we have players around him that actually know how to pass and kick a soccer ball! not clown players that your man Bob Bradley brought in.
Jack here is some truth.
The attendance was 5026 not the ” no word of a lie there was not more then 500 in attendance” you say.
Here’s my source https://www.espn.com/soccer/match/_/gameId/598111
So what’s your source when you’re saying not more then 500? More importantly what’s your agenda.
“no word of a lie” huh!!! Imagine being off by a magnitude of 10.
That was the”announced” attendance ! I told you I was there, but don’t take my word because you never do, you are a Italian DP hater and Bob and Mike Bradley lover, Google the highlights for the Oct 27 2021 game and tell me there were 5000 fans at that game! Not a chance in hell!! but your loyalty to Bill Manning and the Bradleys is sickening
Another thing Fan kid , Seba will be signing in the next couple of days, remember when you told me that his career was over!! Must make you ill to see Seba come back ?
I am happy to see Seba come back as long as it’s on a team friendly contract and not on some DP or TAM deal.
He would be a great depth signing. Not sure if he would be able to me a everyday starter at this point in his career as injuries will get the better of him. With proper load management him and Bradley can partner together like the good old days. Now we just need to bring Altidore back for the full reunion.
When is Seba signing? Did you not say he was signing?
So what you are telling me is that 4500 out of 5000 people bought tickets and decided not to show up. If tickets are selling that is all that matters.
Lastly the game was on a Wed night with temps below 10C and the season all but over. Add to that both Raptors and Leafs were playing on that Wed night and you can imagine where the sporting dollar went.
I was also there and while it sure looked sparse I think we need to remember that BMO seats 25K minimum and 5K looks for all the world like it may as well be 500. Actual 500 people in the stands would look completely empty and it sure didn’t. 500 is less than one section of seats:)
Ah the perfect guy for this debate!! Jeff why don’t you re post that video you made of TFC playing to a near empty stadium!! If I recall a couple of seasons ago you panned the stadium and blamed Bill Manning, C’mon Jeffery do it for me, because I know you didn’t call out the Athletic when I asked you to, they said Insigne got into a heated discussion with Terry Dunfield at training a few weeks ago and Jimmy Brennan said it was all bullshit ! And what about the Athletic a few months ago saying our two Italian DP’s can’t stand each other yet early last week their families were vacationing together in Florida! I know this will be very hard for you to do because your hatred of the Italian DP’s is quite evident.
Let’s see what he has in the tank!
And one more thing if Seba signs for the remainder of this year and next year, I dont want to see guys posting on this site that the contract is too long, after all we brought in Vic Vazquez and most everyone went googoo gaagaa over Victor, Its obvious even if you just started watching soccer that Victor is a broken down soccer player and did not deserve any money to play here this season although he was exceptional in 2017.
Depends on how big the contract is. If it’s close to a TAM deal then I think it’s too big a risk on someone that hasn’t shown he can stay healthy any more than Vazquez recently.
If it’s less than $600k-ish (Sapong money) I think it’s worth the risk.
But ideally the deal would be just for this year until he can prove he’s still got something left in the tank.