Toronto FC entered the league in 2007. They failed to make the playoffs that year… and for seven seasons after that. Enter Sebastian Giovinco.
The rumors and reports started in 2014. But even when it became clear that Giovinco would depart Juventus and head to Toronto in 2015, most assumed he’d arrive at the end of the Serie A season in May.
Instead, Giovinco asked for an early exit. He wanted to be with his new team in time for the start of the season.
Committed to the club
Even as the league has taken major steps forward in quality, you never know what level of investment you’re going to get from a Designated Player with a high-priced salary. Before Giovinco committed to Toronto, club officials met with him to lay out the difficulties he might face in the league. They wanted to do what they could to ensure he’d be all in.
In short, the questions were, “Are you sure? Are you sure you’re sure?”
If there were any lingering concerns after he signed on the dotted line, they started to disappear once Giovinco left Turin for Toronto a few months early.
“That just showed how committed he was and how motivated he was and excited he was to come to Toronto and make a mark right away,” Toronto midfielder Jonathan Osorio said. “He came to us at the beginning of the year, which was great for everybody. And then, you know, every day, he was just putting in the work and making sure that he was at his best to perform. It was a pleasure to watch.”
Spearheading a juggernaut
He didn’t relax after making a positive first impression. His teammates saw how hard he took losses. And how he carried himself with a sense of responsibility.
“You could see how motivated he was,” former Toronto teammate Michael Bradley said. “He didn't come on vacation. He didn't come for a paid income. He came because he had spent a few years at Juventus and felt like he wanted a bigger role. He wanted to be a really, really important guy in a team. And wanted to be in a team where that team's success was going to be really dependent on Seba being an important player and scoring goals and playing really well.
"So when he showed up and you could see how motivated he was, how much he wanted to train, how serious he took it all. Then that, combined with the football qualities, meant that, yeah, we were excited.”
It took a second for that motivation to manifest in results. Giovinco didn’t find the net until his fourth game and Toronto earned just three points through their first five games. From there, after a two-goal performance against FC Dallas, it all started to click for Toronto and Giovinco.
He scored 22 goals and delivered 16 assists that season on the way to winning Landon Donovan MLS MVP honors. Toronto even made the playoffs for the first time.
And it only got better from there. Toronto went to their first MLS Cup in 2016, famously losing on penalties to a Seattle side that didn’t put a single shot on target.
They took a scorched-earth approach in response. In 2017, Toronto put together one of the great seasons in MLS history. A treble-winning season that featured a Canadian Championship title, a Supporters’ Shield win and an MLS Cup redemption against Seattle. A few months later, they were in the Concacaf Champions Cup (neé-League) final.
Emotional goodbye
By the time Giovinco left the club, he had earned the 2015 MVP award, the 2015 Golden Boot, three MLS Best XI appearances, four MLS All-Star selections, and multiple team trophies while posting a final tally of 73 goals and 57 assists in 125 MLS appearances.
Unfortunately, the club legend’s time in Canada’s largest city came to an end in January of 2019. Giovinco departed his adopted home, leaving Toronto for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
When he left, he took the time to post an emotional thank you to Toronto and the club’s fans. He also expressed disappointment with how his time ended.
“It’s without hesitation that I can say that I wanted it to end differently,” he wrote on Instagram. “As I have always maintained, I was hoping to renew my contract and finish my playing career in a city that feels like home. It is here where my daughter was born and where my son took his first steps on a football pitch. A place my family loves to live and wanted to call home for good."
Triumphant return
His playing career didn’t end in Toronto. But he couldn’t stay away.
In October of 2024, Giovinco returned to Toronto FC. This time, in a front office role as a Special Advisor and Club Ambassador.
“I leave so many memories here,” Giovinco said. “It just was the way to go. It had to happen. It was destiny kind of to come back to Toronto. So coming back as an advisor and as an ambassador, it was something that, sooner or later, was going to happen.”
Toronto’s most decorated player is, once again, part of shaping a new era for the club. It remains to be seen if there will be similar results. But it’s good to be home.
“Being again, around the building, seeing the same people, a lot of people that I knew, being on the field sometimes, it's always nice for me to be at this building, right?” Giovinco said. “So again, it's something that I know. The game is something that I know.
"I know the people. I know the city now. So for me, it's always a pleasure to be here.”
