TORONTO

Losing affects Sebastian Giovinco more than others.

It stays with him longer. You can tell it hurts. It matters.

After being officially awarded MLS MVP honours Wednesday, the Italian international still regretted how TFC’s season ended.

It was that painful.

To others, though, losing is a minor nuisance. It comes with the territory. It’s common-place in sport.

The 28-year-old Giovinco just doesn’t want it to be.

And that, in essence, is what makes Giovinco one of the all-time MLS greats already: Ability on top of an insatiable hunger for victory.

At the conclusion of TFC’s 3-0 playoff loss in Montreal last month, Giovinco darted off the pitch. He didn’t shake a single hand or wait for cameras in the dressing room.

Despite having a season to remember, the league’s top player cared more about dropping that result. Despite having 40 million (as in dollars) reasons to smile, Giovinco seemed to hate losing every match more than everyone else.

“Soccer is a team sport,” Giovinco said during Wednesday’s MVP announcement at the Air Canada Centre. “It would be better to win with the team. I’m very happy to win by myself, but next year, we will focus on winning as a team.”

He can’t win any more individual awards. In a season that saw him collect 22 goals and 16 assists, Giovinco also won the Golden Boot. Then came Newcomer of the Year.

Later this week, the Italian’s stunning goal against New York should win Goal of the Year. He’ll have collected every individual award he’s eligible for in less than 12 months. And now he’s receiving commendation from Major League Soccer’s top voice.

“The signing of Sebastian Giovinco was one of the most important and successful signings in the history of the league,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told the Toronto Sun by phone Wednesday night. “It’s very important for us to have everyone understand that this is not a retirement league. Of the players who came to MLS from overseas in 2015, the average age was 27-years-old.

“While there are a handful of guys — Didier Drogba and Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo — who are toward the end of their careers, Sebastian made this decision in the prime of his career. He made Toronto FC his club of choice when he had many other options. It was great to see him deliver, if not over-deliver, on everybody’s expectations.”

The Jermain Defoe debacle has fans in this city still feeling like Giovinco is too good to be true — that he’s, well, too good. There were fears throughout this season that he’d simply get bored. Because, you know, strikers hate scoring goals.

When Giovinco arrived in February, multiple pinhead pundits suggested his national-team career was over. He was vindicated this past summer when he was called up by Italy coach Antonio Conte. That alone, according to Garber, served to show the competitive growth of this league.

“Sebastian had lost his position on the Italian national team,” Garber told the Sun. “He performed in MLS and got his national team spot back. I believe that our league is viewed far more competitively outside the United States than it is in the U.S. and Canada. Having Sebastian do what he did is a great way for us to shout out loud that we’re a lot better than you think we are.”

There’s never been anyone else like him. Ex-L.A. Galaxy icon David Beckham contributed more off the field than on it. Soccer legend Thierry Henry didn’t have the same drive to win. The Frenchman refused to play on turf fields. You could argue Drogba is in Montreal for all the right reasons, but he’s quickly becoming ancient.

“I haven’t seen a player like this (in MLS),” Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said of Giovinco. “There are players who have had great seasons. There are players who have scored more goals. But his ability to be involved in almost everything we do from an attacking standpoint is unprecedented ... It’s the way he does it. It’s the flare and his nimble ability. He has a knack for the spectacular.”

Still, that “knack” doesn’t muddy what truly made Giovinco great this year. Nobody seemed lower after losses. With Giovinco, you could always tell the results really mattered. Asked what he disliked most about his first MLS season, the Atomic Ant didn’t hesitate.

“The playoff game,” he said. “It was a very important game. The city was waiting for it. But now it’s in the past. We will be ready for next year.”

Most MLSers are already on vacation. They’ve forgotten about the losses, the playoff exit this season. Not Giovinco. The club’s highest-paid player is also one of its greatest competitors.

“Hopefully this is a little bit of payback (for TFC fans),” Bezbatchenko said of signing the league’s top player.

For Giovinco, though, there’s still so much left to win. And he also made his intentions clear to reclaim the Landon Donovan MVP trophy next season.

HE'S NOT FOR SALE

Sorry, Barcelona, Sebastian Giovinco’s not for sale — or loan.

Following Wednesday’s MLS MVP announcement inside Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko appeared to address rumours that the Spanish juggernaut is interested in the league’s top player.

Italian media outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport reported in October that Barcelona had been keeping a watchful eye on Toronto’s leading scorer.

“We’re an ambitious club,” Bezbatchenko said. “We’re trying to be a club that’s contending for championships every year. In order to do that, we need stars and players who will take the game on their back and score the game-winning goal. That’s Sebastian Giovinco. A player who scores 22 goals and 16 assists is always going to have interest from abroad.

“It’s flattering to know one of the top clubs around the world— perhaps the top club — over the past 10 years has an interest in Sebastian. It hasn’t been formalized, but if something comes in, we’ll politely decline.”

That’s not to say it wouldn’t be worth bragging about.

“Obviously, it’s something I’d have to share with the owners,” Bezbatchenko continued.

“They’d want to know that our star player is recognized around the world as being a true star."

Football magazine FourFourTwo recently named Giovinco one of the top 100 soccer players in the world.

The Atomic Ant placed 94th on the list.

OTHER T.O. MVPs

2015: Josh Donaldson (Jays) Hit .297 with 122 runs, 41 home runs and 123 RBI.

2012: Chad Owens (Argos) Argos wide receiver/kick returner won the Most Outstanding Player award and led Argos to the Grey Cup.

2005: Damon Allen (Argos) Won the Most Outstanding Player award at age 43.

1996-97: Doug Flutie (Argos) Superstar QB won back-to-back Grey Cups with the Argos, too.

1990: Mike (Pinball) Clemons (Argos) Running back surpassed his own single-season record by recording 3,840 all-purpose yards.

1987: George Bell (Blue Jays) Finished with 188 hits, 111 runs, 47 home runs and 134 RBI.

1982: Condredge Holloway (Argos) Threw for 4,661 yards, 31 touchdowns and finished with a 100.1 QB rating.

1968: Bill Symons (Argos) Rushed for 1,107 yards, a 6.75 average per carry. Had 44 pass receptions and scored 11 touchdowns.

1955: Ted Kennedy (Leafs)Finished the season with 10 goals and 42 assists (52 points).

1944: Babe Pratt (Leafs)Finished season with 17 goals and 40 assists (57 points).