Sebastian Giovinco happy with Toronto FC, doesn't miss playing in Serie A
Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco says he does not miss playing in Europe, and affirmed he is happy with his decision to come to Major League Soccer.
The former Juventus man came to MLS in January last year and immediately took the league by storm. The 28-year-old signed a blockbuster, multi-million dollar deal with Toronto, and is now happily gearing up for his second year in North America.
"I’m very happy in Toronto, I’m happy with the choice I made," Giovinco told SportItalia in Italian, as quoted in English by beIN Sports. "I can’t wait to start again, we’ve been stopped for a few months and I want to get back to playing."
In his first season with Toronto, Giovinco scored 22 goals and recorded 16 assists, setting club records for a single season in both categories, as well as the league record for most combined points in a single season. He won the MLS Golden Boot award for those efforts, and was also voted the 2015 Most Valuable Player.
Such was his form that even the mighty Barcelona was sniffing around, asking about his price for a potential signature.
"I didn’t believe it myself," Giovinco said of the Catalan side's interest. "It was true though, even if there was nothing concrete. A small approach, shall we say."
Interest from Barcelona may indeed be flattering, but it wasn't enough to sway Giovinco, who said that even a return to Serie A isn't something he desires at this very moment.
"Juventus? I miss it, but I made the choice and I’m delighted," Giovinco said. "I knew MLS was a growing league, and I wanted a change of lifestyle.
"Serie A? For now I don’t miss it, we’ll see in a couple of years, but at the moment I’m happy. I don’t know what will happen in the future, you can never say never in football. Football in MLS is growing, and in five or six years it will be an even more important league."
While Giovinco continues his MLS adventure and has one eye on a coveted MLS Cup, he's got the other squarely on the 2016 Euro Cup. The Atomic Ant was given multiple call-ups to the Italian national team by manager Antonio Conte in 2015, and is hoping that faith in him will be kept for this coming season, too.
"(Conte) has shown that distance isn’t a problem," Giovinco said. "I hope to go to the European Championships."