AT YANKEE STADIUM yesterday, New York City FC and Toronto FC played out an enthralling 4-4 draw.
The game had been billed as a straight shoot-out between David Villa and Sebastian Giovinco but it was the Italian who came out on top.
The former Juventus player who moved to the Canadian MLS side at the start of the current season, scored a hat-trick inside nine first-half minutes before he set up Marco Delgado for a go-ahead goal late on (he also missed a penalty and hit the post). But NYC grabbed an equaliser just moments later and Toronto had to make do with a draw, despite their star-man’s heroics.
The 28-year-old is the best player in the league right now. As well as the 11 goals he’s managed in 17 games (second-best tally currently), he’s also racked up 8 assists.
And Toronto are seeing plenty of return on their massive investment.
The franchise has struggled to make much of an impact since its founding in 2006 but made a splash last year with the signings of Jermain Defoe and US international Michael Bradley but failed to make the play-offs for the eighth-consecutive season.
Still, they’ve continued to spend and Giovinco was signed to a dizzying contract in January – a base salary of $7 million per year plus add-ons that puts his annual salary close to 10 million a year – a figure that puts him above everyone in the league, including Kaka at Orlando.
But it’s looking like money well spent. TFC are in third place in the Eastern Conference and seem well-placed to make it to the post-season.
