Giovinco vs. Drogba: Which Designated Player is more important to his team?

Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact boast among their ranks goal-scoring superstars in Sebastian Giovinco and Didier Drogba. Both are heroes in their respective cities, well-loved, and well-paid.

But, which Designated Player is more important to his team?

Let's take a look:

Giovinco has scored 22 goals and recorded 15 assists in 32 games, combining for a league-record 37 points. The Atomic Ant has seven game-winning goals to his name this season, and averages 0.74 goals per game.

That's an impressive rate, but not as impressive as that of Drogba, who, with his nine goals in 10 games, is good for 1.04 goals per game. Drogba is a key figure in his side's offence, creating 38 shots - 18 of which were on target. Drogba has three game-winning goals to his name already and has helped the Impact qualify for the playoffs with a late-season surge.

Comparing the two is tricky: Giovinco is small, technical, fleet-footed, and fast; Drogba is big and burly, a physical presence in and around the box. Both can score beautiful goals from free-kicks, perhaps the only shared attribute between them.

There is no denying that both these players are crucial figures for their teams, but, since the numbers can't split these two, there is one key difference that separates them: Giovinco has put Toronto FC - and Major League Soccer - on the map in a way that Drogba simply can't.

When Giovinco goes to Italian national team camps to play in crucial European Championship qualifiers, he does so not only as an important member of the Italian national team, but as an ambassador for Toronto FC and MLS.

Related - Atomic Ant takes over Toronto: Top 5 moments from Giovinco's record-breaking season

Drogba carries with him a legend forged in the Premier League at Chelsea, like Frank Lampard does in New York City or Steven Gerrard does with Liverpool at the LA Galaxy. And, while it helps raise the profile of the league, it does so in a much more symbolic way.

Giovinco is the first high-quality in-prime player playing in MLS, legitimising the league in a whole new way. And, as he does so, he wears Toronto FC red, paving the road for a new generation of talent to consider MLS - and TFC - as a new home.

As such, Giovinco will be remembered as a pioneer, whereas Drogba will be one of many aged European stars thriving in North America. It's what makes Giovinco Toronto FC's brightest-ever star, too.