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Italian international forward Sebastian Giovinco of Toronto FC was named the most valuable player in Major League Soccer (MLS) following his first year in the league in 2015. The 28-year-old had 22 goals and 16 assists to lead the league in scoring with 38 points. His 22 goals were tied for the most in the league with forwards Kei Kamara of the Columbus Crew. The Italian also had a league-high 181 shots at net and the 38 points in a season is a new MLS record. It wasn’t a surprise to hear Giovinco was named the league’s MVP since he took home the player-of-the-week award three times during the season and the player-of-the-month trophy twice. In addition, Giovinco was named to the leagues’ Best 11 team and won the Newcomer of the Year Award.

The Toronto forward became the first-ever MLS player to score at least 20 goals along with 10 assists in the same season. However, the Canadian club didn’t fare too well in their first-ever playoff performance as they were drilled 3-0 on the road by the Montreal Impact in the first round. In total, Toronto scored 58 goals during the regular season while Giovinco participated in 38 of them for a mark of 66 per cent. Giovinco’s best performance came at Yankee Stadium in July when he scored a hat trick in the span of nine minutes against New York City FC and then added an assist in a 4-4 draw. He also chipped in with a three-goal game a month later when TFC beat Orlando City 4-1.

Giovinco’s fine play didn’t go unnoticed back in Italy as he was called up to the country’s national quad to play in the Euro 2016 qualifiers by manager Antonio Conte. But since he had such a good season in MLS, many Toronto fans are afraid there will be several European teams after him during the upcoming January Transfer Window. The small forward said he was very happy to win the award and hopes to keep improving as a player, but it’s more important that the team improves first and has a better season in 2016. He made 33 appearances in 34 regular-season games with TFC and started 32 of them. Giovinco left Italian Serie A champions Juventus last January when he was in his prime at the age of 27 while most major European stars don’t head to North America until their early to mid-thirties. He didn’t come cheap though as he cost TFC approximately $7 in wages this year.

The voting for the MLS MVP award wasn’t unanimous, but he was named on 77 per cent of the ballots handed in by the players, 94 per cent of the media votes, and 87 per cent of the votes handed in by the league’s clubs. The other two finalists were Kamara and Benny Feilhaber of Sporting Kansas City. Toronto now has two different MVPs this year as Major League Baseball player Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays was named the most valuable player in the American League this season. Giovinco was also up for one more MLS award this season as he was nominated for the goal of the year, but it was won by forward Krisztian Nemeth of Sporting Kansas City.