Toronto FC

MLS star Jozy Altidore and tennis champion Sloane Stephens got married on New Year's Day and announced the news in an Instagram post Tuesday.

Sloane Stephens weds longtime beau Jozy Altidore. pic.twitter.com/5Rttf8AoGJ

— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 4, 2022

The two tied the knot at St. Regis Bal Harbour in Miami Beach, Florida, according to Lindsay Kimble of People.

Stephens, 28, is best known for her win at the 2017 U.S. Open and has six career WTA titles. She reached No. 3 in the world rankings in 2018 and is currently the No. 65 singles player. 

Altidore, 32, is coming off his seventh season with Toronto FC in MLS, but has also played in the Premier League, La Liga and other top leagues around the world. He appeared in two World Cups for the United States men's national team.

The two athletes have known each other since childhood and started dating in 2017 before announcing their engagement in 2019. 

MLS club Toronto FC have denied speculation Sebastian Giovinco is set to join Al-Hilal, explaining the Italian left camp due to a medical issue and not to finalise a move. 

As shared by Italian Football TV, press from the Italian peninsula picked up on his absence from camp, with a Gazetta dello Sport reporter even suggesting a deal with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal had already been secured:

https://twitter.com/IFTVofficial/status/1089884143167700994

A Toronto representative said those reports are wide of the mark, however, per ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle:

"In recent days, rumours have suggested Giovinco is heading to Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal, with Saudi Arabian daily Al Jazirah reporting that he had been issued with an entry visa.

"The report that Giovinco had left the camp added to the impression that his departure was increasingly likely, but the team representative said he had travelled to Los Angeles to see a specialist about tightness in his leg at the request of his agent, Andrea D'Amico.

"Manager Gregg Vanney gave Giovinco permission to see the specialist, and the player is expected to return to Toronto's camp later on Monday."

Carlisle added sources said there has been no offer from the Saudi Arabian Pro League club, but that does not mean there is no interest and a bid could still arrive. The 32-year-old is in the final year of his current contract.

Giovinco himself has responded to the speculation and left the door open:

Giovinco: staying or going? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/OqokBBCine

— COPA90 US (@Copa90US) January 28, 2019

The former Juventus man has been a smash hit since joining Toronto in 2015. The Atomic Ant quickly established himself as one of the top players in MLS, winning the Golden Boot and MVP Award in his debut campaign.

He also guided the Canadians to the MLS Cup and a domestic treble in 2017.

The Italian is the team's first ever 50-goal scorer:

Al-Hilal are Saudi Arabia's most successful club and have a long history of adding strong overseas players. Rivelino, Christian Wilhelmsson and Thiago Neves are but three examples, while Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Carrillo are currently members of the squad.

Losing the popular Giovinco would be a tough pill to swallow for Toronto, but the trickster is coming off his worst season yet with the club. He managed a respectable 13 goals and 7 assists in the 2018 MLS season, but it's fair to wonder whether his production will dip further with age.

Add to that his contract situation, and a big-money move to Saudi Arabia could be in the best interest of both parties. Toronto couldn't qualify for the play-offs the past season and their run of dominance appears over; it might be a good time to load up for the future and turn the team over to younger players.

Giovinco never had the opportunity to land a massive contract while in Europe so he'll likely be keen to cash in. Al-Hilal will have to offer tremendous wages to lure him away from MLS, setting him up for a nice payday.

Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore and NY Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan, former teammates on the U.S. men's soccer team, were ejected from their match Sunday after being involved in an altercation at halftime.

A YouTube clip shows the melee, which features a number of players from both sides pushing one another and attempting to break things up (warning: NSFW language):

Altidore posted a tweet after the match that has since been deleted asking why Kljestan attacked him from behind. 

“Yo Sacha Kljestan why you snitchin bro?” Altidore tweeted. “You tried to pull up on me while my back was turned and almost got that work. Safe flight.”

Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney told reporters Altidore was "ambushed" by Red Bulls players. 

"From my estimation and from what I've heard, Jozy was basically ambushed in the tunnel and we'll see where that goes," Vanney said.

"I just have witness accounts and we are working on the video of what happened, but Jozy was followed in, basically confronted and he turned around and from my understanding the next thing you know there were four, five or six Red Bulls people all rushing towards him at the same time and the rest we'll see."

Kljestan disputed those claims, telling reporters Altidore shoved him against a wall to start the altercation. 

Police were briefly involved in separating the two teams, but no criminal charges have been filed. Toronto won the 2-2 aggregate matchup thanks to its two away goals in the first leg. 

Toronto FC was always going to be one of the main players in the race for the Supporters' Shield and Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer, but the club has elevated its status in those competitions lately with the reintroduction of Jozy Altidore to the starting XI. 

The United States men's national team forward has been plagued by hamstring injuries at the worst times on the international level as he has missed parts of three major tournaments in the last three years. He also missed a good chunk of time for Toronto this season. 

Since returning to the pitch as a substitute on July 23, the 26-year-old designated player has shown how much of an impact player he can be in the stretch run for the Reds. 

Altidore has found the back of the net in five of his last six games, including one in each of his last four contests. All of that success is coming as he still works his way back to full fitness. 

"It’s just getting the minutes and the legs under you," Altidore told reporters after Toronto's win on Saturday against Philadelphia. "I think cardio-wise I’m OK. It’s just getting the legs in the humidity and keeping them turning. It’s a tough time to come back in the summer. It’s not easy on the legs, but I’m feeling good." 

Altidore's physical hold-up play brings a different element to the Toronto attack that also contains Sebastian Giovinco, who is tied for the lead in the Golden Boot race alongside David Villa of New York City FC. 

Marking Giovinco's speed and ability on the ball was already a tough task for opponents. Now they have to deal with Altidore's bruising style of play in the final two months of the regular season. 

The return of Altidore only helps how manager Greg Vanney sets up his squad and tactically works his way through matches. 

It’s huge for us.  Jozy’s a big part of our team and you know he provides us with a outlet. He’s obviously a guy in front of goal who can create opportunities for himself when he plays big.

He’s also our target if we get out wide and we have to serve because of the size in front of goal.   And I think he draws attention that allows Sebastian to find a little bit of extra space on the field and I think they’re doing a great job of finding each other and combining with each other.

He’s massive and he’s probably underrated in terms of the amount of defensive work he gives.  As a striker, he does a lot of work and he’s responsible. He’s always looking for ways he can help the team. 

The chemistry with Giovinco that was there before Altidore's injury absence is coming back quickly as Toronto continues to surge up the Eastern Conference table. 

"Even before, I thought the best moments we had was our first season together when we first started," Altidore said. "I thought that was when we were at our best. But we’re getting back to it. And Seba’s Seba. He’s gonna be great. It’s easy to play with a great player like him." 

With their win against Orlando City on Wednesday, the Reds are now on top of the Eastern Conference with 43 points, two points ahead of second-place NYCFC. Toronto's last two victories have come on the road, which the club sees as key despite a good amount of home games on the back end of the schedule. 

"For us, we know we have the home games, but it’s important that we don’t rely on the home games at the end," Vanney said. 

Six of Toronto's final eight contests will be played at home. The Reds started their season on the road for eight games as construction finished at BMO Field. 

Now that they have an advantage during the closing stages of the regular season, the Reds have postseason home games in mind. They also could challenge for the Supporters' Shield if they pick up enough points. They are only two points behind FC Dallas in that competition. 

"We want to give our fans a home playoff game that they can attend, many of them if possible," Vanney said. "But our regular-season priority is to get into a home playoff position and obviously winning the East would be our No. 1 goal." 

Altidore and the entire Toronto squad have motivation driving them to reach the top spot in the league. Toronto made the playoffs for the first time in 2015, but the trip into the postseason didn't last long as Montreal eliminated the club at Stade Saputo in the opening round. 

"That’s our motivation, to take steps each year we’re here," Altidore said. "Last year we made the playoffs. This year the goal is obviously to win a championship but we gotta get a playoff game at home and got to get fans to buy into what we’re doing here. That’s key to us." 

If Altidore continues to find the back of the net and Giovinco keeps up at his current scoring pace, Toronto has a great chance of hoisting the MLS Cup in December. 

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. 

Take a bow, Sebastian Giovinco.

The reigning MLS MVP was at it again on Saturday night, scoring a hat-trick as his Toronto FC strolled to a 4-1 win over the New England Revolution at BMO Field.

The ex-Juventus man was almost unplayable throughout the evening, as Toronto moved to within a point of Eastern Conference leaders New York City FC.

https://twitter.com/TotalMLS/status/762097018470817792

Giovinco's first goal was a beauty, struck with the outside of his boot:

And his second wasn't too bad, either:

Teal Bunbury and Jozy Altidore rounded out the scoring after the Italian forward had added a third from the penalty spot:

Giovinco: ⚽️⚽️⚽️ #TORvNE https://t.co/y7nT5leZgB

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 7, 2016

Back-to-back MVP titles, anyone?

Sebastian Giovinco's MLS season by numbers for @TorontoFC:

42 chances created
37 take-ons
15 goals
10 assists

MVP. pic.twitter.com/eGCPMSuKN7

— Squawka (@Squawka) August 7, 2016

[Instagram, Twitter]

A warm welcome at a cold #TFC game. Canadians are better than our govt pic.twitter.com/uCAZ27K2A4

— Jim Stanford (@JimboStanford) September 13, 2015

A small group of fans attending Toronto FC's clash with New England Revolution at BMO Field on Sunday were told to take down a banner reading "Refugees Welcome."

Fans in Germany, England and Australia have displayed similar banners in recent weeks to show support for the current refugee crisis.

Arsenal fans show support for the refugee cause at the Emirates today. pic.twitter.com/t7w7bQkryS

— BPL Zone (@BPLZone) September 12, 2015

“In taking this action, I was identifying as a football fan, which is a key part of my life,” explained Ciaran Breen, one of the Toronto fans, via nationalpost.com. “People in other countries and other football fans have shown us their example and we’re following their lead as sports fans.”

“As per both venue and league security policies, banners containing political messaging of any kind are not permitted,” a representative of Toronto FC owners Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) later explained.

[h/t nationalpost.com]

There's no sense arguing about it anymore. Toronto FC's star forward Sebastian Giovinco is en route to a record-breaking MVP season.

Giovinco's hat trick lifted TFC to a 4-1 victory over Orlando City SC on Wednesday. Admittedly, Orlando center back Aurelien Collin was abysmal, but the Italian is the one who embarrassed him.

The forward collected the ball on the left flank, cut inside and ran towards Collin. The French defender then lunged into Giovinco with a two-footed tackle in the box. The ex-Juventus youth product won and converted the subsequent penalty.

A well-placed free kick and another brilliant individual strike in the second half led to Giovinco's next two goals.

Giovinco is now MLS' leading scorer, and he needs just three more assists to top the league in that category as well. He was also voted MLS Player of the Month for July, per the official TFC website.

In scoring his 16th goal in 2015, Giovinco set a record for the most goals in a single MLS season for TFC, per Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star. Dwayne De Rosario owned the feat before Wednesday night.

He's also broken the record for most hat tricks in a season with two, per Daniel Squizzato of the official MLS website:

https://twitter.com/DanielSquizzato/status/629347104624930817

https://twitter.com/DanielSquizzato/status/629118530059792384

https://twitter.com/DanielSquizzato/status/629119292110303232

Giovinco has been involved in 26 of TFC's 36 goals this season. He's appeared in all 21 games for the team. There's no doubting how integral he is to the Reds' success.

The 28-year-old needs 12 goals in the final 13 games of the regular season to break the single season scoring record. Former D.C. United striker Roy Lassiter's 27 in 1996 still stands as the number to beat.

This writer discussed how Giovinco wasn't the league's best player back in June. There was no doubt that he was in tremendous form then, but he showed inconsistency throughout the season.

More than two months have passed since, with Toronto playing 10 games in that span. Giovinco has recorded 11 goals and four assists since June 6. He's been playing nonstop soccer for the last 13 months when counting Juventus' preseason that started in July 2014.

TFC also lost its two other designated players, Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley, to international duty for friendlies and the Gold Cup. Giovinco has carried his team and hasn't suffered a significant injury to this point, apart from his minor heel issue.

The heel injury seemed to affect Giovinco against the New England Revolution on August 1. He was slightly slower on the ball and wasn't as imposing as he was in previous matches. Head coach Greg Vanney took him out of the game at halftime.

However, Giovinco was clearly healthy enough to become the league's top goalscorer. His performances have been so impressive that Sportsnet's John Molinaro has labeled him as Toronto's best athlete.

There's also a debate about Giovinco being MLS' best player in league history. However, it's still too premature to include him to this conversation after 21 games.

Giovinco will have some competition for the MVP honors. Orlando City's Kaka has nine goals and four assists in 21 appearances. He's helped the expansion side compete for a postseason spot, and if it qualifies, the Brazilian will likely be considered for the award.

Sporting Kansas City's Benny Feilhaber is another potential candidate. He has been instrumental in SKC's excellent 2015 season with seven goals and is tied for second with 10 assists.

New York City FC's David Villa is also in the running with 13 goals (third-highest total in the league) for MLS' other expansion team.

However, if Giovinco can continue this form and guide TFC into the playoffs for the first time, he'll easily claim the Landon Donovan MVP Award.

Peter Galindo covers MLS and U.S. soccer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @GalindoPW.

Eighteen matches into his first season in Major League Soccer, Sebastian Giovinco is turning heads in every game he plays.

The Italian playmaker, who joined Toronto FC from Juventus in February, has re-energized the franchise and earned his place among the best players ever to set foot on an MLS field in the last 20 years.

While some may say it is too early to stick that tag on Giovinco, he is more than deserving of it. In his first 18 games as a Toronto FC player, Giovinco has 12 goals and nine assists. He has contributed to the most goals of any player in the league, and only seven of Toronto FC's strikes have not featured some type of involvement from the Italian.

Along with propelling Toronto to new heights, Giovinco is also helping change the game in MLS by making it an appealing destination for players in the prime of their career.

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Giovinco's path to MLS almost started later than it did, as he was supposed to link up with the Reds during the summer, which is what designated players coming over from Europe normally do.

Instead of waiting until July or August to get acclimated to the league, Giovinco got out of his Juventus contract in February so he could put all of his energy into the new season alongside Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley in the Toronto FC attack.

Thanks to the decision Giovinco made—and Juventus' agreement to let the Italian go to MLS before the season began—he was able to adapt to his new teammates right away. He has avoided going through the same process in the middle of the year that Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo are right now with New York City FC.

"Having Sebastian join us in time for training camp is incredibly important for our team and our plans this ‎year. Sebastian is a world-class player who makes all of his teammates better and his arrival is a monumental moment for Major League Soccer and Toronto," Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said after the signing became official, per Sportsnet.

Giovinco hit the ground running with an assist in Toronto's opener against Vancouver. His first goal came a month later on April 4 against the Chicago Fire. Since opening his MLS account at Toyota Park, Giovinco has put on dazzling attacking displays on some of the league's biggest stages.

His top performance came July 12 against David Villa and NYCFC. The game that was supposed to see the debut of Lampard at Yankee Stadium instead witnessed a 4-4 shootout that brought out the best in Giovinco.

After missing a penalty early in the first half, Giovinco recorded the first hat-trick in club history and the third-fastest three-goal output in MLS history. Starting with a 34th-minute penalty, he put on a brilliant display of individual ability that saw him complete his hat-trick just nine minutes later. On top of the three strikes, he added an assist on Toronto's fourth tally of the match.

"You see what he's capable of doing on a day like today because he brought out a lot of skills and treats. But every game is different. Today, he showed what he's capable of doing. This one has to go down as one of his best games for sure. He was excellent," Toronto boss Greg Vanney told Armen Bedakian of MLSsoccer.com following the game against NYCFC.

While the NYCFC match was Giovinco's breakout game on a national level, everyone who has watched him play has left with the same takeaways. Giovinco, who is arguably the best player in the league, has forced every club to raise the bar in regard to talent. It has also allowed other MLS clubs to try to dip into a talent pool that was rarely touched in the past.

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Since David Beckham's arrival in Los Angeles back in 2007, MLS has carried a stigma of being a retirement league. Stars like Freddie Ljungberg, Juan Pablo Angel, Thierry Henry, Tim Cahill and Marco Di Vaio all followed in Beckham's footsteps to the league that seemed to improve by the year.

But MLS still faced issues drawing younger talent from overseas to a league on the brink of turning a corner into a new age. Attracting American players in their prime became less of an issue for the 20 MLS clubs after Clint Dempsey returned home to the United States to play for the Seattle Sounders.

Since Dempsey's arrival in the Pacific Northwest, Bradley, Altidore, Jermaine Jones, Mix Diskerud, Brek Shea and Maurice Edu have all signed deals with MLS to play the rest of their respective careers in North America. By locking down American talent that previously plied their trade overseas, MLS also became an ideal destination for young Americans like Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and Omar Gonzalez to stay and further their games at home.

Over the last few years, MLS has also developed a strong pipeline in South America, as plenty of talented athletes from Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay have opted to come stateside and improve the increasingly high standard of play.

However, the one piece missing from the puzzle after the 2014 season was the acquisition of a high-profile European player in his prime. That all changed when Toronto lined up a move for Giovinco and made him one of the highest-paid players in MLS. According to the list of MLS player salaries released July 15, Giovinco is guaranteed to make over $7.1 million in 2015. Orlando City's Kaka is the only player earning more than the Italian.

Thanks to the success of Giovinco and other designated players, MLS recently added a new acquisition mechanism to force clubs to spend. The league introduced targeted allocation money July 8 to help draw even more marquee stars to North America.

The LA Galaxy were the first club to use the targeted allocation money, as they bought Gonzalez's contract down below the designated player threshold in order to bring in Mexican superstar Giovani dos Santos.

"Like I said, it's a league that's growing. The names speak for themselves. It's players that are stars worldwide and it's a league that wants to continue to grow," Dos Santos said in an interview with Univision, per MLSsoccer.com.

"The few MLS games that I've been able to watch I think it's a league that has grown a lot and it's a league that we need to respect and a league that's generating attention," the Mexican star continued.

Targeted allocation money differs from the designated player rule because teams must spend the allotted $100,000 per year in some fashion. If a club opts not to use its $100,000 in 2015, they must spend or trade it by the end of 2016, per the release on MLSsoccer.com. That means at the bare minimum, each of the 20 sides will be spending an extra $100,000 per season, or trading that money so others can spend more.

As more teams are interested in using big amounts of cash to improve their rosters, it is only inevitable they will attack the European transfer market like Toronto did with Giovinco. Acquiring the signatures of top attackers in their prime like Giovinco will take some time, but with the increase in quality on the pitch, the interest certainly will be there.

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By stepping up the transfer fees for players of Giovinco's caliber, MLS has also forced itself to improve the quality on the pitch week after week in order to prove to other European players seeking employment in the United States that this is the best option available.

Parity has never been a problem for the league, as any week can produce the unexpected. That also brings plenty of competition to the top of the table in both the Eastern and Western conferences.

After 20 weeks of action in the 2015 season, only three points separate the six teams in play-off spots in the West. The gap from first-place FC Dallas to Colorado in 10th place is 11 points. Things are a bit more spread out in the East, as 11 points sit between the top six clubs, while leader D.C. United and last-place Chicago have a 17-point gap in between them.

Despite some of the early failures from the teams at the bottom of the table, even they are improving as the season goes on. Once seen as the true bottom feeders of the league, Colorado has pulled together a three-game winning streak, while lowly Chicago is slowly starting to put things together under manager Frank Yallop.

Ten of the 20 clubs in MLS have already gone on a winning streak of three games or more, while each side has come out victorious in two consecutive matches on at least one occasion in 2015. With an array of parity around the league, there are plenty of potential destinations for big-name players to move to and play for a play-off contender.

Another thing going for the league is the development of youth prospects. MLS was in a decent position in regard to development with the homegrown player rule, but those efforts have increased now that most teams are aligned with an affiliate in the lower division of American soccer.

The New York Red Bulls, FC Dallas and LA Galaxy are among three of the clubs benefiting the most from the influx of youth, which is as important as flooding the rosters with pricey international talent.

While there are plenty of improvements still needed for MLS to be considered a top league in the world, most notably the poor refereeing we have seen almost every week in 2015, the signs of progress are there. With Giovinco at the forefront of the new era in the league, MLS is in great hands given the Italian's electric start in Toronto.

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Something more important to the Atomic Ant than improving the league as a whole is handing the fans in Toronto some hope that their beloved franchise isn't doomed of ever qualifying for the play-offs.

That hope dwindled significantly after the 2014 season unfolded in tumult, with Jermain Defoe eventually leaving the club for a move back to England. The Defoe situation, which was not helped by the player's injury situation and a late managerial change, allowed Toronto to bring in Altidore in a swap deal with Sunderland.

Altidore and Giovinco were the missing pieces up top that Bradley needed to work with throughout his first year in Toronto red. Toward the end of the 2014 campaign, Bradley was stuck doing most of the work from box to box in order to set up a potential Toronto attack.

"Every time you bring a new player into the club, they have to fit into that culture that is in that locker room. We as the coaches, because we need to improve our culture, are going to be the forefront to helping to establish that culture," Vanney said at the end of the 2014 season, per MLSsoccer.com.

"That's going to be on myself, my staff…everybody that's around this building that will function next year at a higher standard," the manager continued.

This season, opposing defenses have three big-name attack-minded players to prepare for since Bradley has been given a license to roam forward. The United States captain has been handed a bigger responsibility in attack of late thanks to Collen Warner's understanding of the defensive midfield role.

While some of the same defensive problems still linger around the Reds, they are in much better shape now because their designated players are performing like they should. Mista and Torsten Frings are just two of the players that didn't succeed in Toronto in recent years as designated players.

On top of that, plenty of former Toronto stars put up impressive numbers elsewhere. Joao Plata, Luis Silva, Quincy Amarikwa and Maxi Urruti are just a few of the young athletes the Reds have let go that have thrived in other cities.

Even with the history of underperforming and miserable designated players still fresh in the minds of Toronto fans, the promise of earning a spot in the play-offs for the first time in franchise history is alive and well. Whether the fourth-place club in the East can make a run at the top spot held by D.C. United remains to be seen, but the potential is there with Bradley, Altidore and Giovinco firing on all cylinders.

"I don't think of the stats, I just think to play and achieve the best I can do. Everything comes along with it," Giovinco said after his side's win over Montreal on June 24, per Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star.

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Although he has only been a Toronto FC player for six months, Giovinco has already started to change the culture at the club and around the league as a whole.

If he continues to score goals, not only will Toronto prosper in the long term, MLS will benefit from the eventual inclusion of more highly rated European stars who will use Giovinco's success as an example of why they should move to North America.

We may not see the full effect from the Giovinco transfer for a few years, but it is already certain MLS has taken a giant leap in the right direction with the Italian in the fold.

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Toronto FC's star forward Sebastian Giovinco was named MLS Player of the Week after a fantastic performance against the San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday. The ex-Juventus man has been excellent since arriving to North America, but it's still premature to refer to him as the league's best player.

Giovinco has scored five goals and has recorded six assists in 11 games this season. He's also taken a high amount of shots. The 28-year-old has mustered 54 attempts, which is tied for the league lead, per the official MLS website.

Giovinco's reported $7 million salary plus bonuses, according to the Toronto Sun's Kurtis Larson, and European credentials magnify his accomplishments and diminish his failures. Some media members have suggested that Giovinco could be MLS' best player. Sportsnet's Michael Grange is one reporter who is making this claim:

It's been a long time since Toronto could claim the best player in any league or sport. TFC's Giovinco could be the one.

— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 30, 2015

An argument can be made that it is the case. Giovinco has been toying with MLS defenses since his debut on March 7 against the Vancouver Whitecaps. He made one of the league's top defensive midfielders, Matias Laba, look average before assisting Jozy Altidore's first goal.

He followed up that performance with a dud against the Columbus Crew and a decent showing against Real Salt Lake. The Italian finally started to dominate on April 4 in a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Fire. Giovinco recorded a goal and an assist in that match.

Within this dominant run, he made a poor showing in the 2-1 defeat in TFC's home opener against the Houston Dynamo on May 10. 

This hot streak has led to Giovinco's MLS Player of the Month nomination. He was undoubtedly one of the best players in May, but there are others who are deserving of more plaudits than the TFC star.

Benny Feilhaber has been excellent in midfield for Sporting Kansas City, recording four goals and a league-high seven assists this season. Feilhaber was also named MLS Player of the Month for April. He's been one of the consistently best playmakers in the league and gets little recognition for it.

Clint Dempsey has also been exceptional for the Seattle Sounders, scoring seven goals to go with six assists this year.

FC Dallas' Fabian Castillo has been brilliant with his electric pace, technique and improved finishing. The Colombian has similar attributes to Giovinco as well, although Castillo plays out wide. Producing four goals and five assists as a winger is not too shabby, either.

The Vancouver Whitecaps' Pedro Morales is a clever creator and one of the team's main attackers. His two goals and four assists are lower than the Italian's numbers, but Morales is a more intelligent player who can change the pace of a game at will. 

Kaka can compete with Giovinco in terms of passing, vision and overall technique. The 2007 Ballon d'Or winner has six goals and two assists, which is impressive for a player who is past his prime. 

L.A. Galaxy striker Robbie Keane is a complete forward who, when healthy, is one of the league's most clinical goalscorers. He has an MVP award to back up that claim, and he's also scored 55 goals in 90 career MLS matches.

Lee Nguyen and Obafemi Martins were candidates for the award in 2014. The former has struggled with injuries, but he's less than a year removed from scoring 18 goals. Meanwhile, Martins has been ever-present for the Sounders with six goals from just 19 shots this campaign, per the official MLS website.

Also something to keep in mind is Giovinco's fitness. He was already in midseason form by the time he arrived in January after his preseason in the summer with Juve.

Giovinco only appeared in 12 games for club and country from August 30 to January 25, but he was still training every day and ready to play whenever he was called upon. Any player arriving from Europe in the middle of its domestic season is going to have a head start on the rest of MLS.

The Turin native could still claim the 2015 MVP award, but he won't truly be tested until the summer when games are more frequent, the travel becomes grueling and fatigue starts to set in. It won't be any easier when Altidore and Michael Bradley are away on international duty.

There's no doubt that Giovinco is a terrific addition to MLS, but he's not the undisputed best player in the league as some have claimed. There are several others who are better.

Peter Galindo covers MLS and U.S. soccer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @GalindoPW.