HANOVER, N.J. – They may not have planned on having him around, but Italy’s loss is unequivocally Toronto’s gain.

After being overlooked by Italian national team head coach Antonio Conte, reigning MLS MVP Sebastian Giovinco will not have a part to play for the Azzurri as they head to France for the 2016 UEFA European Championship, a decision that has coaches, teammates, and opponents alike scratching their heads.

“It’s a catastrophe in my mind; it’s ridiculous,” midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. “When you look at the Italian national team where it used to be and where it is now, and you look at the type of player he is and the difference maker that he is, it’s ridiculous to me that he’s not on that team. He’s a tremendous player.”

Alas, Giovinco will not be a problem that Belgium, Ireland or Sweden will have to deal with this summer. Instead, the Atomic Ant will be heading south to take on the Red Bulls for the second time this season, making him New York’s top priority come Saturday night.

“Of course, we’ll need to keep track of—for my money—the best player in the league,” head coach Jesse Marsch said. “It won’t be an easy task—we’ll do it by committee—but we know that that’s a major part of the game.

Arguably the most talented player in the league, Giovinco’s unique skillset causes problems for every defense in MLS, and stats show just how important bottling up the 29-year-old will prove to be.

“They had eight shots last game and Giovinco had all eight of them,” Marsch added. “We have to do a good job of tracking him, not letting him get space, and overloading the field when he gets the ball.

“They’ve scored 14 goals on the year, and he’s been involved in 13 of them, so you can’t overstate the importance he is to their attack and their team. It’s a big challenge, but we’ll be up for it.”

When it comes to stopping Giovinco, there’s no easy answer. A player that can beat you in a variety of ways, the Red Bulls have stressed the importance of cutting down on their mistakes in order to limit his chances on the break.

“He creates chances for himself, so he’s the main guy we have to keep an eye on,” Kljestan added. “We know that they’ll thrive on the counterattack, so we need to limit our turnovers in our end and be ready for anything.”

Likely to play a major role in that task, defender Connor Lade has been wholly impressed with what he’s seen from Giovinco since signing with Toronto in 2015. However, come Saturday night, Lade is confident that he and the rest of the New York defense will be able to cope though a defense-by-committee approach.

“He’s an amazing player,” he told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “Every game I’ve watched him in, he’s just gotten better and better. He’s priority number one for us, so it’s going to come down to our communication in the back and making sure we’re accounting for numbers with him as the main guy we need to take care of. It’ll be a tough task, but one that we’ll be up for.”

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