Posted by

Harjeet Johal ,

March 11, 2015 Twitter

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VANCOUVER, B.C - Toronto FC made quite a statement with a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps during the opening weekend of Major League Soccer. Just when Toronto was losing a first half track meet to Carl Robinson's Whitecaps, Toronto answered back with a goal seemingly out of nowhere thanks to a combination of brilliance from Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore.



Giovinco received a pass from Jonathan Osorio before playing a lovely through ball to Jozy Altidore. The U.S international calmly rounded David Ousted before scoring. Giovinco's pass came from absolutely nothing and nobody inside BC Place Stadium saw that coming. A modest Giovinco described his play-making assist as if it was something he has done on a regular base with ease.



"I saw very early that Altidore was making that run and I was able to slide it through to him."



One current MLS player who had a terrific vantage point for Giovinco's MLS debut is none other than Whitecaps FC goalkeeper Paolo Tornaghi. The Garbagnate Milanese, Italy native remembers playing half a dozen matches against Giovinco back in the Italian Primavera almost a decade ago.



"We are almost the same age, he (28) is a little older than me (26). We grew up together, I was in Inter and he was in Juventus, so we had several matches against him."



Sebastian Giovinco is exactly the same player that Tornaghi watched and played against in Italy. Giovinco is as dangerous as ever and he certainly did not leave Serie A for a family vacation. His new challenge and exciting opportunity is already paying dividends for Toronto FC and Tornaghi believes more is still to come from Giovinco.



"He's playing the same position that he use to play in with Juventus and in Parma. I think he had the best season in Parma when he was a regular starter and he was playing as a number ten. He makes a lot of assists, he's dangerous on the free kicks and he had a couple on Saturday. It's the same player. It's good for him to play with big teammates. His link with Altidore is very good and he's pretty much the same."



The five-foot and four-inch playmaker makes up for his lack of size with his heart, will to win, pace, and ability to read and see a play develop before it does. Tornaghi sees Giovinco's stature as a positive attribute.



"He's very tiny, but you can see that his tininess is positive for his quickness. He's very quick and of course he has a great touch on both feet. He can play very quick with his qualities, for sure in modern soccer it's a threat."



How does an opposing goalkeeper or defender stop a creative player like the Formica Atomica?



(Laughs) "Well... it's hard to stop the Formica Atomica, but I think you don't have to leave him a lot of space. You have to be very tight on him and play a little physical, because of course he's small. You have to be careful because he can play first touch and go. You have to be very physical on him and stay tight."



Many pundits, supporters and far away on lookers concluded that Whitecaps centre-backs Kendall Waston, and Pa-Modou Kah would lay into Giovinco, offer him a sliding tackle, and an overall uncomfortable match. Giovinco held his own, found open space, and wasn't all that bothered by the Whitecaps towering central defenders.



"The centre backs were physical but there are many strong and physical centre-backs in Italy. It wasn't really different. I knew what to expect."



Whether he knows it or not, Sebastian Giovinco will open doors and help change the impression of Major League Soccer back in his home country. Marco Di Vaio, Alessandro Nesta, Matteo Ferrari, Carlo Cudicini have all played in MLS and Paolo Tornaghi has noticed the change in how MLS is viewed in Italy.



"I know that a lot of players in Italy now look at MLS as an opportunity, and you can see that Giovinco is not so old. You talked about Di Vaio and Nesta, they were almost retired. Now, players in Italy are interested about MLS and it's growing, so for sure there is interest in Italy for MLS."



One issue that debut players, Sebastian Giovinco and Octavio Rivero had to adjust to on Saturday was the playing surface at BC Place. When Rivero missed a first half sitter, the turf was blamed. Giovinco finished with six attempts and two shots on target. He nearly scored on a low first half shot to the far post. When asked for his thoughts on the BC Place turf, he had a familiar answer that many players have echoed.



"Yeah, no good."



The Torino, Italy native is extremely happy and enjoying his first season in MLS. Although Toronto FC won't play a home fixture until May 10 vs Houston. Giovinco enjoyed the crowd, fans, and all the atmosphere of his first professional match in North America's top flight.



"It was a great atmosphere. A great performance. I'm happy with the result."