TFC Talk: Return of the Atomic Ant

With a hat trick on the weekend, not to mention a stellar overall performance, the Atomic Ant Sebastian Giovinco is out of his so called “slump” and TFC get a big bounce back victory.

To paraphrase Nick Jonas, last week was complicated. Oh how quickly things could change. Going into TFC’s game against DC United on Saturday I was still frustrated with the teams performances as of late. 90 minutes later and I forgot why I was ever upset.

They finally looked like a team that could make a run, Giovinco got out of his slump, and Altidore got back out on the pitch. Oh boy it was a glorious 90 minutes that I wished I caught live.

Before we talk anything else Toronto FC, lets talk about last weeks MVP. Of course I am talking about Sebastian Giovinco. Now I have been reading the Flash’s new rebirth comic series (which I highly recommend) and I see immediate parallels between this version of the Flash and Giovinco.

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In this run of issues (pun intended), The Flash is used to being the fastest man alive until an abnormal storm hits and now their are a bunch of people with super speed. The Flash doesn’t really know what to do as now what made him special is now just the norm.

I see this in Giovinco because he came to the MLS and just tore it up. But now with David Villa, Drogba, Gerrard, and many more high profile athletes making the transition and playing well in the MLS, Giovinco just looks like another premier guy and not the MVP that he was last year.

Jul 23, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco (10) celebrates after scoring his first goal against DC United in the first half at BMO iField. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

Fans can now expect to see great performances from a multitude of players whereas last year people had tuned into Toronto FC games because they couldn’t miss watching Giovinco play. Now although the Flash’s issues haven’t been solved yet (as the series is only on issue #3), one would assume it will end with the Flash being the top speedster and claiming the title of fastest man alive, just like Giovinco has shown everyone in the league that he is still the leagues most exciting player.

Seba just played outstanding. He was involved in every goal, scoring three and rang one off the post that Delgado put away on the rebound, and 2 of his goals came off of beautiful free kicks. Didn’t catch the game or highlights?

He scores a beautiful free kick and then goes 2 for 2 by scoring an even tougher free kick. Its almost as if before he took the second free kick, his spirit animal DJ Khaled appeared to him.

via GIPHY

I could go on and on about Giovinco BUT I will save that for another time. In the 71st minute of the last match, newly signed TFC forward Tosaint Ricketts subbed on and didn’t look too shabby. He immediately had a chance that he just barely missed and he also hit the post later on in the game. Two chances that should of gone in, in only 20 minutes of play.

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I imagine nerves are the reason he didn’t put at least one in so I will not fault him for two easy misses. Too early to make a judgement on Ricketts but from what I saw I was mildly impressed.

Also of note in last weeks game, was that Altidore finally got back out on the pitch. He only played 20 minutes but looked good in his return and hopefully he can be fully fit to start against Columbus. You can also tell the difference of runs Giovinco makes when Altidore is on the pitch. A healthy Altidore is going to free up Giovinco and lead to a very dangerous 1-2 attack.

Unfortunately, there has been nothing of note out of TFC’s camp this week as the MLS prepares for the All Star Game. There has been a rumour about Toronto pursuing an attacking midfielder before the transfer window closes, but I don’t see that happening.

Next: Miroslav Klose to MLS?

All in all it’s a quiet week that will pick up with the All Star game tonight, the final game in the Trillium cup against Columbus on Sunday, and then a mid week match against Real Salt lake next Wednesday. So until next time TFC fans…

COME ON YOU REDS

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