Ahead of Saturday's match at BMO Field, we caught up with Toronto Sun reporter Kurtis Larson to talk Giovinco, Altidore, Bradley, Toronto FC's expectations, and #TORvSKC.
Jonathon Feyerherm: Toronto FC grabbed a lot of headlines with the signing of Sebastian Giovinco in January. What were the expectations for him heading into this season?
Kurtis Larson: It's kind of interesting to see how it's evolved since he signed back in January because if you look back, the club signed him for around $8 million dollars per season and the team took some criticism for that early on. At that time he was the highest paid Italian player in the world. People were saying they were overpaying for a designated player who had done well in Italy but by no means people thought could come in at that kind of salary. Since the season's gone on, we've seen him score 16 goals and 10 assists. He's on pace to become the only player in MLS to have 20 goals and 10 assists in a season. People are now starting to say they possibly aren't paying him enough and he could have actually come in on a higher salary, because he's been that good. It's a bit unusual in this league to have a designated player come in who's making a lot of money and people to say he's actually worth more. He's outperformed the expectations and I think week in, week out, people around the league have seen and learned that he's not only the Most Valuable Player in the league but for me the best player in MLS.
JF: What makes Giovionco such a dangerous player and hard to defend?
KL: The reason it's so hard to defender Giovionco is he finds pockets throughout the to game that most players don't find. In Greg Vanney's system, he's allowed to drift into certain areas and pretty much do whatever he wants. A lot of back lines have a hard time following where he is at all times. If you push bodies forward, he's going to channel and the pocket that you vacated. And when he picks up the ball in space, he's extremely hard to stop one on one. His first three or four steps are so fast and we saw on Wednesday that Orlando City's Aurelien Collin had a really hard time with him. Giovinco pretty much had his way with the former Sporting KC centerback. And after that, he doesn't miss chances. If he misses a chance, it's a surprise. He's extremely efficient, good on the ball, and always making plays.
JF: In past years, Toronto FC's had struggles with getting consistent performances from their back line. How have they played this season?
KL: Toronto FC, throughout its history, has never really had a go to centerback. A player who everyone in the league knows and will help Toronto win games. They've never had a guy like Matt Besler or Victor Bernardez. Guys who are real rocks at the back and they thought Damien Perquis, a Frenchman, was going to be that guy but he's struggled at times this season. I think it's just the mental errors across Toronto's back four that continue to manifest themselves. Last weekend, they give away three goals on set pieces and it's just a lack of concentration. They thought they were going to get more from this back four but I still think it's better than what people think it is. They just brought in Ahmed Kuntari, who will start on Saturday, and looked good on Wednesday night. He's good on the ball and has good instincts. The defense hasn't really found a way to play a complete game yet. Also the right full back spot is almost completely vacant. They had Mark Bloom go down with a quadricep injury, he's out for the season, and they haven't really been able to replace him. They brought in Josh Williams, he could be option for this weekend, but as of now they don't have an everyday option at right back. Toronto FC's going to score a lot of goals but they're also going to give up a lot of goals.
JF: With Toronto FC playing a midweek match against Orlando City and injuries to some players, what kind of lineup can we expect to see from the home side?
KL: I think you're going to see Gionvinco because Greg Vanney did rest him for a half in the New England match so he should be fresh. It wasn't really a taxing match against Orlando because they won 4-1 and it was kind of a cruise control situation in the second half. Michael Bradley is going to be fit and Jozy Altidore is coming off suspension. I don't really see fatigue being an issue for this team right now.
JF: What are you looking forward to seeing from Saturday's match?
KL: From a Toronto perspective, you're looking forward to seeing how the team does in a match against a top team in the league that has plenty of playoff experience and comes in doing really well this season with only four losses. It's a real test just like next week in New York will be for Toronto FC. We haven't really seen Toronto FC play against a top side this season other than LA and they got blown out in that game. So right now, it's just testing yourself against the best in the league and seeing where you stand. With two months left in the season, it's going to tell us a lot about how this team might fare in the playoffs and down the stretch.
