They had the central midfielder, they had the center forward. But what did they add with their newest arriving star?
Toronto FC signed Sebastian Giovinco on Monday, and in the process acquired a guy billed as their own No. 10.
In Greg Vanney’s words Giovinco is a player, “who can help us create in the attacking third, a player who can set other players up and give other players opportunities, but also create opportunities of his own.”
When looking at the numbers from his time in Serie A, his stat profile suggests he can do exactly that, though maybe not in the way that most fans are expecting. Giovinco is not a No. 10 in the South American sense – think Pedro Morales, Javier Morales, and Federico Higuain – in that midfield play is not constantly funneled through him.
Instead he is a player that will likely be more comfortable in a second striker role. That is the No. 10 in the Italian tradition of guys like Francesco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero and Roberto Baggio. Like those three legends, Giovinco is a creature of the final third who is most influential when he can be a pure attacker.
In his best three seasons in Serie A (2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13) Giovinco averaged 3.7 shots and 2.2 chances created per 90 minutes. That ratio of 1.65 shots per chance created most similarly resembles players such as Chris Rolfe or Mike Magee, two guys who are notable for their ability to simply pop up in the right spots when their team is threatening goal, and neither of whom is tasked with controlling the game.
The top playmakers in MLS – including both Moraleses and Higuain – had ratios that were much closer to 1/1:
(Source: Opta Sports)
You will also notice how many fewer passes per 90 minutes Giovinco made in Serie A compared to the top MLS playmakers. The players above that are closest to Giovinco on this list are Diego Valeri and Lee Nguyen, two guys who played higher and higher up the field as the season went along, and both of whom ended up being the leading goal-scorers on their respective teams.
Those two played in front of Diego Chara and Jermaine Jones, both high-usage central midfielders, No. 8s who are tasked with setting the tempo and shape of the game. Giovinco will have his own version of that in Toronto thanks to the presence of Michael Bradley, who actually led the league in usage rate last year by a wide margin.
In other words, Bradley's presence should allow Giovinco to play higher up the field as a true attacker – the position that suits him best.
Even so, there is a high probability that Giovinco’s numbers will change going from Serie A to MLS. Vanney has talked about instituting a more possession-oriented approach this year, which could mean more involvement from his most technical players. That, of course, would mean more than 27 passes per 90 for La Formica Atomica, so don't be surprised if Giovinco's advanced stats for 2015 look something closer to Nguyen's or Valeri's.
On the flip side, there's just as good a chance that he ends up more like Joao Plata, Clint Dempsey or (if everything goes right) 2014 MVP Robbie Keane. All three ended up being both elite finishers and chance creators, and none were at any point mistaken for a midfielder:
It's also worth remembering that Giovinco has had only sporadic playing time for Juventus over the past 18 months, which will likely have dulled his edge just a bit, and that there will be an adjustment period.
Regardless, there is little doubt what role Giovinco should play once he's in red. And there's plenty of reason for TFC fans to be optimistic that he, Bradley and Jozy Altidore will have complementary rather than overlapping skillsets.
