TORONTO—It’s not at all unusual for forwards to go a few games without scoring a goal.
Even Sebastian Giovinco is not immune. The reigning Major League Soccer MVP has been mired in “slumps” before for Toronto FC. But Giovinco is currently in uncharted territory, as he has failed to score a goal in his last six MLS games for TFC.
The Italian will try to break out of his scoring funk on Saturday evening when the Reds host the Chicago Fire.
This current goal-drought is the longest Giovinco has suffered through since coming to Toronto. He’s gone one or two games without a goal before, but it says something about how prolific and consistent of a scorer he’s been in MLS that his previous longest scoring slump was a pair of three-game stretches—and one of those came in his first three matches in the league.
Coach Greg Vanney has a theory as to why the goals have dried up a bit as of late.
“Teams are focusing a lot of attention on Sebastian. Teams are saying, ‘he’s not going to beat us; we’ll make the other guys beat us.’ In these last few games I’m seeing numbers around him—three or four guys quickly dropping in, closing off his space,” Vanney said after Friday’s practice.
“If he does anything in over two touches he’s going to have numbers around him really quick. Teams are getting players between him and the ball as well, so a lot of times he’s getting decent looks but they’re getting blocked.”
Vanney believes there are a number of different ways the team can help Giovinco break out of this scoring drought, including getting him the ball earlier, and giving him more support up top so he isn’t so isolated at times.
“We need to get in support. We need to release some of our defensive transitions into attacking transitions faster, so we can get the ball to him and get our numbers up before teams have a chance to get numbers behind the ball or around him,” Vanney said.
Rookie midfielder Tsubasa Endoh believes he and his teammates have to do a better job of “being connected”—not just with Giovinco, but also with each other.
“I don’t know if we are connected enough with Seba in front [of goal]. We have to support Seba. He can’t do everything by himself; he needs our support, too. We have to be more connected with each other on the field,” Endoh offered.
The good news is that it’s not as though Giovinco isn’t getting opportunities to score. During this six-game stretch, the Italian has registered an amazing 31 shots, with 12 on target. He’s had chances. He’s just not burying those chances, including one in last week’s 1-1 draw against Seattle when he ballooned a shot over the crossbar while having a clear look on goal.
“Yes, he’s hasn’t picked up goals. Yes, I think he’s had a lot of defenders around him. But I still think through the course of each one of these games he’s had one or two really good looks. They just aren’t going into the back of the net for him,” Vanney stated.
Vanney admitted that the Italian has to improve his sharpness in front of goal.
“He’s had some pretty good looks. They’re just not falling for him now. But he has enough quality that we’ve seen over the years that they’ll start to fall,” Vanney said.
It’s interesting to note that Giovinco’s dry spell has coincided with Jozy Altidore’s absence. The Italian last scored in MLS play against Vancouver in May, the same game in which Altidore injured his hamstring. Altidore has been sidelined since then, recovering from his latest injury setback.
Canadian forward Jordan Hamilton has looked solid in recent weeks, appearing in Toronto’s last four matches (three as a starter), and scoring in back-to-back-games—including off a rebound from a Giovinco shot on goal against Seattle.
The hope is that with Altidore expected to be back in the lineup soon that he’ll draw more attention from defenders and hold up the ball to bring teammates into plays, thus freeing up more space for Giovinco and giving him more openings to score.
“Jordan has done a good job… but when you look at the team sheet, no disrespect to Jordan, when you see Jozy, other teams are thinking about how to stop Jozy, in addition to how to stop Sebastian. They start to divide their attention a little bit more than maybe if it was Seba on the field with Jordan,” Vanney explained.
Giovinco was unavailable to talk to reporters on Friday.
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