SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Toronto FC midfielder Sebastian Giovinco said he didn't draw any added motivation from being left off Italy's Euro 2016 squad, and is focused on helping his club qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs.
"I was motivated before and I'm motivated now," he told ESPN FC through a translator. " It would have been amazing [to go the Euros], it would have been the cherry on the pie, but I'm happy with the way I'm playing and what I'm doing."
Giovinco, the league's reigning MVP, recently went through an eight-game spell in which he failed to find the net. Toronto didn't completely fall apart, going 2-3-3 during that span, though it did include a humbling 2-1 defeat to a San Jose Earthquakes squad playing with nine men. But Giovinco broke out of his slump in a big way last weekend with a hat trick in a 4-1 defeat of D.C. United.
"It happens that I go through these spells, but I try to stay calm," he said. "These kind of things happen in the life of the game. I'm happy to have gone through that and score three goals."
Giovinco, who will play in Thursday's MLS All-Star Game against Premier League side Arsenal (7:30 ET, ESPN), has still put up impressive numbers on the season. His 11 goals are tied for the third most in the league, and he has also dealt out seven assists.
He's also been fouled 49 times, third highest in the league. Giovinco is being fouled at a slightly lower rate this year (2.58 fouls per game) as opposed to last year (2.72) but still feels teams are marking him tighter than last year.
"I think about it sometimes, maybe there is a little more attention toward me this year," he said, "but getting fouled is part of the game. They are trying to do it for the good of [their team]. They don't do it to be violent toward me."
Toronto is currently in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, having garnered 27 points from 20 matches. But TFC has been without Designated Players Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley for long stretches due to international commitments and most recently, injury. Altidore has made just nine appearances on the season due to a hamstring problem, while Bradley has appeared in 12 matches, due in part to a knee injury he picked up at Copa America.
Giovinco said he thought Toronto had survived their absences well.
"They are definitely important players, and we miss them," he said. "The team knows how much we miss them. At the same time, there are [28] players on the roster, and so far so, so good. But we're confident that when they come back they will integrate and we'll do even better."
Toronto has nine of its last 14 games at home, putting it in good position to make the postseason, but Giovinco is taking nothing for granted.
"It's hard because we are a young team," he said. "The goal is definitely to do better than last season, maybe winning [MLS Cup] too. But it's going to be hard because there is a lot of competition."