Sebastian Giovinco has pretty clearly established himself as the free kick king of MLS, scoring 12 in MLS regular season play since joining Toronto FC ahead of the 2015 season.
But how does that number compare to the big names in Europe's top leagues? Turns out, Giovinco's tallies put him far beyond any other player in those leagues since he came to MLS.
In data provided by Opta to MLSsoccer.com, Giovinco has twice as many direct free kick goals as any player in league play since his TFC debut in March 2015. In comparing players in MLS, the Premier League, Ligue 1, La Liga, the Bundesliga and Serie A, four have tallied six direct free kick goals: Didier Drogba (Montreal Impact), Dani Parejo (Valencia), Miralem Pjanic (Roma/Juventus) and none other than Lionel Messi (Barcelona).
Other players known for their set piece prowess, such as Gylfi Sigurdsson (four goals), Hakan Calhanoglu (four), and Dimitri Payet (five) have not been nearly as prolific on direct free kicks as Giovinco.
One other tidbit: Only two players in MLS and the big five leagues of Europe have scored more than one direct free kick in a single game – Giovinco and Tottenham's Christian Eriksen have each scored two in a match.
All in all, while there are hundreds of leagues around the league, and there could be other candidates to rival Giovinco's crown, in looking to the big leagues of Europe, where many of the best players ply their trade, the stats show the Italian is the best in the business.
