Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco shoots the ball during a game against the Chicago Fire in Toronto on July 9, 2016.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Sebastian Giovinco hits the road in search of goals this week.
The reigning MLS MVP hasn't scored in seven league games although he remains a vital playmaker – and human highlight reel – for Toronto FC, which plays in Columbus on Wednesday and San Jose on Saturday.
Last season, Giovinco scored (22) or assisted (16) on 38 of Toronto's 58 goals, meaning he was directly involved in 65.5 per cent of the team's scoring. He had 11 goals and eight assists last season at this point.
This year he has eight goals and seven assists, contributing to 79 per cent of the team's 19 goals.
So the Atomic Ant magic lives on.
"He's still playing great," said coach Greg Vanney. "He still does things out there that again nobody else is doing."
But strikers live to score goals and Giovinco has set very high standards for himself since taking MLS by storm last season.
The 29-year-old Italian has 53 combined regular-season goals (30) and assists (23) since joining MLS. The next closest player has 39, according to Opta Sports.
Giovinco is not scoring, but not for lack of trying. He took 13 shots in Toronto's 1-0 win over visiting Chicago on Saturday, tying his high in MLS play. Only one shot was on target, however.
A perfectionist, Giovinco has cut a forlorn figure in recent weeks. He showed his frustration after one missed opportunity against Chicago, ripping his jersey after curling a shot just wide in the 76th minute.
Still he hammered a free kick off the goalpost and set up Justin Morrow's winning goal with a slide rule-like pass.
Vanney, who says Giovinco's frustration is at himself, continues to preach calm.
"Things will fall in because he's extraordinarily talented," Vanney said.
"What he cares most about is that we get results," he added. "At the end of the game he was with the team, we celebrated the win and that's really the most important thing.
"But we know in order to get to where we really want to go, we've got to get him back into finding the back of the net. Which we know will come because he's the most talented player in the league in my opinion."
The previous week against Seattle, Giovinco didn't get an assist but it was his shot that produced a fat rebound which Jordan Hamilton knocked in.
The game before that in Orlando, the Italian set up Hamilton with a glorious backheel flick in a 3-2 Toronto loss. And he played a huge role in Toronto's second goal, raking in a cross that the goalkeeper deflected into the path of Morrow.
The list goes on. Giovinco may not be scoring goals but he continues to make them with a dizzying array of nutmegs and flicks while controlling the ball as if he had Super Glue on his boot.
The Italian has not scored in league play since May 14 when he had two goals and an assist in a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Since then he has attempted 44 shots but has been on target for just 13 of them.
He did score a goal in the Amway Canadian Championship final against Vancouver during that stretch.
His lack of league scoring coincides with the departure of Jozy Altidore (hamstring), who is nearing a return to action. Altidore's absence has allowed opponents to throw numbers at Giovinco.
In Columbus, Toronto (6-6-5) finds last year's MLS Cup finalist struggling at 3-7-7. Crew SC is winless in five (0-3-2) and has just one win in its last 10 games (1-4-5).
Owner owner Anthony Precourt made his feelings known in a series of tweets after a 3-1 loss to New England last weekend.
"Not good enough right now. Plain and simple," he said.
"But we have a great coach and great players. Just not clicking. Shows the close margin for error in mls. Not far removed from playing 4 Cup."
"I only see one way to handle tough times, and that's to remain optimistic. Calling this the low point of season."
Columbus can take solace from the play of Norwegian international Ola Kamara, who has four goals in the last three games and eight in the six games since May 28.
Vanney agrees that Columbus's struggles illustrate how competitive MLS is.
"If one thing disrupts your group or you're just not finding form one or another, it's sometimes challenging to get results because (other) teams are just not that far off," he said.
Still Columbus would have to go 12-4-1 in the second half of the season to match last year's record of 15-11-8.