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Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco is only 5-foot-4 and 135 pounds, but he’s going to look like a giant to the Impact in the MLS Eastern Conference final.

While most of the expensive designated players in MLS come to North America at the end of their careers — like 38-year-old Impact striker Didier Drogba — Giovinco is in his prime at 29. And the “Atomic Ant” might have something extra to prove against the Impact after being left off the Italian national team for a World Cup qualifying game against Liechtenstein on Saturday.

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“I have done everything to help him, but the reality is that he plays in a league that doesn’t matter much,” Italy coach Giampiero Ventura was quoted in explaining his decision, taking a shot at MLS. “And the number of goals he scores is less important because with the quality he has got, he is bound to make a difference in that league. The problem is that if you play in that type of league, and you get used to playing in that type of league, it becomes a problem of mentality.”