Sebastian Giovinco isn’t giving up hope of a return to Italy’s national team.
The Toronto FC star hasn’t played for Italy since October 2015, the tail end of his first season in MLS. Azzurri manager Gian Piero Ventura and his predecessor Antonio Conte have both said that Giovinco isn’t being tested enough in MLS to merit a call-up.
The 30-year-old, who has 15 goals in 24 regular season appearances for Toronto this year, disagreed with that notion in a recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It’s true that tactically, the game’s simpler here and attackers have more chance to score, but on a physical level, certainly this is a very demanding league,” he said. “Besides, nothing’s easy. I just do my job the best I can, moving on all the time, without letting things which are out of my powers get to me.
“It’s obvious that for a footballer, wearing Azzurro and winning with that shirt is the maximum aspiration, and it always will be. All that I can do is continue along this path, playing well for my club. If [Italy] were to call me, I’d be delighted.”
Italy will play Sweden in November in a two-legged playoff for one spot in next summer’s World Cup in Russia.
While it’d be a surprise if Giovinco is named to the roster for that series, he has plenty on his plate with Toronto. The Reds have already won the 2017 Canadian Championship and Supporters’ Shield, and are looking to break the all-time MLS record for points in a season on Sunday at Atlanta (4 pm ET; TSN4 in Canada, MLS LIVE in the US). The Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs will follow, where Giovinco and TFC will try to avenge their painful shootout defeat in MLS Cup 2016 by winning the title.
Giovinco, who has one goal in 23 career appearances with Italy, defended the quality of the league and Toronto in his comments.
“There’s no doubt that [MLS] has improved,” he said. “It’s still not on the same level as the elite European leagues, but it all depends on the desire and the effort you put out there. Big names keep arriving and there are a lot of top quality South Americans.
“[If Toronto were in Serie A] we would avoid relegation easily, maybe finishing in mid-table.”
