Winners of three in a row (and unbeaten in four), Toronto FC has climbed to third place in the Eastern Conference following a 2-1 road victory over D.C. United on the weekend.
The Reds will now get some time to rest and relax as they have a bye this week, before resuming their Major League Soccer schedule on June 20 at home against New York City FC.
Here are some news and notes from TFC’s training session on Tuesday….
Seba’s the best in MLS—again
For the second time in a row, Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco was named MLS player of the week after scoring twice—both goals being of the highlight-reel calibre—in the win over D.C. United.
“I’m happy, but it’s just a starting point. There’s more work for me to do,” Giovinco said through an interpreter.
Giovinco leads TFC in goals (seven) and assists (six) in 12 MLS matches, and has grown more comfortable and dominant in games as the team has found its cohesion on the pitch over the course of the season.
“For me, it’s a product of the team evolving,” coach Greg Vanney stated. “(Early on) we maybe weren’t quite as sharp as we wanted to be defensively. But we’ve found our rhythm as a group and our identity over the past several weeks has come about … and it allows (Giovinco) to know where other guys are going to be, it allows him to set up his movements.
“We as a collective group also know we’re doing a better job of finding him in certain areas and places, which is allowing him more opportunities.”
Azzurri snub Giovinco
Giovinco has established himself as one of the best—if not the best—player in MLS since coming to Toronto.
But the Atomic Ant was looked over by Italian national team manager Antonio Conte when he recently named his roster for a Euro 2016 qualifying game against Croatia in Split on Friday and a friendly versus Portugal four days later in Geneva.
Giovinco, 28, has one goal in 21 games for Italy, with his previous appearance coming in a Euro qualifier last October.
It was telling that even though forward Simone Zaza withdrew from the Italian camp due to injury that Giovinco was not called up as a replacement, perhaps indicating he is far off Conte’s radar now that he’s in MLS.
Giovinco admitted he wasn’t surprised by his omission.
“When I came here my focus was on settling in (to MLS and Toronto). I’m happy here because I’m working hard and playing well. I’m hopeful that if I continue to play like this that I’ll get another chance to play for the national team,” Giovinco said.
“I don’t speak to Conte at the moment, but I have a very good relationship with him.”
Vanney admitted while he doesn’t know the Italian team’s current setup, he does feel that on current form Giovinco would have to be considered for a recall by the Azzurri some time soon.
“I look forward to him getting that opportunity, to get to prove that all the work he’s doing here is keeping him prepared to be an asset for the Italian national team,” Vanney said.
Soccer Central podcast: SPORTSNET.CA’s Soccer Central podcast, hosted by John Molinaro and James Sharman, takes an in-depth look at the beautiful game and offers timely and thoughtful analysis on the sport’s biggest issues. To listen and subscribe to the podcast, CLICK HERE.
Altidore and the Gold Cup
Jozy Altidore made a cameo appearance in the second half against D.C., returning to action from a hamstring injury after only three weeks.
“It felt great. It felt really nice to be back on the field with the boys. It felt nice to be playing soccer again,” Altidore said.
It was originally thought he’d be out four to five weeks, but Altidore said he did extra rehab sessions with the team’s training staff in order to come back early before heading off to join the U.S. national team for this summer’s CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“I wanted to cut it down as much as I could because if I get called up for the Gold Cup I’m going to miss games (and) it wouldn’t have been fair for me to come back for Toronto, play one game and then leave. I didn’t want to do that,” Altidore explained.
“I wanted to come back and play as many games as possible.”
Altidore said that while he’s fully recovered from the injury he’s not quite 100 percent match fit, and that it’ll take a few games before he can go a full 90 minutes.
Altidore said he’s spoke with U.S. coach Jürgen Klinsmann and told him he’s available for selection for Gold Cup duty.
Importance of the bye week
Vanney is thankful for the bye week as it allows his players who are carrying minor knocks a little extra time to recover ahead of an important stretch that sees the Reds play three home matches in a seven-day span.
“The importance of the bye week is that we can recover a little bit and continue to get healthy, but it’s also looking forward at the opportunity we have when we come back. It’s three home games against three Eastern Conference teams… so they pose some interesting challenges for us,” Vanney offered.
“It’s trying to continue our momentum, recognizing we have an opportunity now to not just talk about ourselves as a playoff team but if we can have some good results when we come back it’s talking about ourselves as a team to win the Eastern Conference.”
Injury updates
Vanney confirmed that defenders Steven Caldwell and Clement Simonin, both out with long-term injuries, should return to training later this week but there is no timeline as to when they might play again.
Midfielder Collen Warner, also sidelined due to injury in recent weeks, is progressing and could feature in the game against New York.
Bloom needs to earn starting spot
Right fullback Mark Bloom has yet to play a single minute this season as he’s dealt with a number of lingering quad problem and other injury issues. He made the trip to D.C. but didn’t play.
He only recently returned to full training and is now focused on winning back his starting position on the right side of defence, currently held by Justin Morrow.
“Things can change so quickly. I could be starting next weekend, but our form is so good right now, and defensively we’re been doing well, so I can’t expect for someone to just get taken out to accommodate me. I have to earn back my spot,” Bloom told Sportsnet in a one-on-one chat.
John Molinaro will have a full length story on Mark Bloom tomorrow on Sportsnet.ca.