Sebastian Giovinco hopes he will remind Italy of his quality during the upcoming international fixtures to safeguard his Azzurri spot, but he remains eager to avoid surveying his club future.

The 24-year-old ace is back in the Nazionale set-up following a stellar season on loan at Parma from Juventus.

Reports have claimed the Ducali want him permanently and will discuss making their co-ownership with the Old Lady a full one, but he has also attracted interest from abroad.

However, the only travelling Giovinco wants to do is with Italy as he dispels rumours of a transfer away from the peninsula.

“At the moment all I think about is this situation with the national team and doing well with Parma,” he told Tuttomercatoweb.com.

“There is no point speaking about the past and I don’t want to cause drama as we know what happened. The present situation means I am doing well.

“As for my future, we will see in June. I have never thought about moving abroad.”

Where will Gio be next summer?

Juventus are preparing to discuss a deal with Napoli at the end of the season for Fabio Quagliarella, although the Bianconeri will be expected to pay €10.5 million for the Neapolitan striker, according to Corriere dello Sport.

The price for Quagliarella was a fixed sum when he joined on loan but Juve are hopeful of compensating the fee with an exchange deal involving Sebastian Giovinco when the midfielder returns from his loan spell with Parma.

Napoli will claim that Giovinco is not worth the same money as the Italy international striker but the Old Lady will be able to substantially decrease the price of Quagliarella in order to sign him on a permanent deal.

Juventus are set to have a similar problem with Alberto Aquilani on loan from Liverpool. The former Roma midfielder could be too expensive to keep in Turin.

You can read full transcript here (Italian)

Brief translation

(I can’t guarantee it 100% accurate)

• He doesn’t believe that he the shortest player in Serie A.
• He checked some player’s height when they were in the tunnel, some have the same height as him, they are Palermo’s Miccoli (167cm), Roma’s Pizarro (170cm).
• He’s been engaged for 4 years with his girlfriend, Sharj, who is taller than him.
• “I don’t cook, don’t dust and don’t wash the dishes”, he said, his gf do all the house chores.
• He likes reading books about mafia, recently read “Ho ucciso Giovanni Falcone” (I killed Giovanni Falcone, the confession of Giovanni Brusca).
• “Is it true that Del Piero was jealous of you?” “No. We joked a lot, he also gave me advices.”

Thanks stadiotardini.com for the transcript.

The Under-21 international came off the bench and with his first touch took a free kick from a dangerous position, proving he was not short on confidence.

“It was an important debut, but I felt pretty calm. Coach Cesare Prandelli told me to take that free kick as soon as I came on, although I might’ve taken it anyway! I should’ve done better, but it was my first touch.

“I must always try to improve, I’m working on that and hope to be a part of this squad in future.”

Giovinco is still owned by Juventus, but is finding his form on loan at Parma.

“I thank everyone who believed in me and continue to believe in me. I am doing my best to repay that faith.

“I really needed to play consistently and at Parma I am finally achieving that.”

Large portions of Juventus’ fanbase lamented their club’s decision last summer to allow Sebastian Giovinco to leave for Parma on a season-long loan deal. Since then, the same groups have made repeated claims that the Bianconeri’s indifferent form this term could have been avoided if ‘La Formica Atomica’ was still a fixture at Vinovo. And while, on the face of it, his Italy call-up for tomorrow’s clash with Germany in Dortmund may add fuel to the fire, the Giovinco situation is one which needs a lot more analysis.

Despite an excellent record at youth level, Giovinco found it difficult to ever become a regular in the Old Lady’s first team. Not quite a striker and yet not quite a winger, his style of play proved not to be conducive to the 4-4-2 set-up favoured by former coach Claudio Ranieri, and when Ciro Ferrara stepped in and started to play with a free-roaming playmaker – a style which seemingly played into Giovinco’s hands – the club acquired Diego from Werder Bremen to leave the youngster once again looking on from the outside.

While last season was frustrating for any Juventus fan, it must have been doubly so for the Atomic Ant. A Bianconero from birth, he had been built up for the first team for what felt like decades but now was unable to help his side in their hour of need. Injuries undoubtedly played a part as the season developed, but even when he did get a shot early in the campaign after Diego was injured away to Lazio, his form went missing and Juve started to slide after a barnstorming opening.

Even in Serie A, a league known more for its artistry and technical superiority rather than a rough and tumble, in-your-face approach, the 24-year-old has at times been proven to be short – no pun intended – of the physical capabilities necessary to impose himself on a game. Standing at only 5’5” and weighing just 62kg, he has too often been brushed aside by centre-backs, full backs and holding midfielders alike when given a run-out.

Having been used off the left in a 4-4-2 by Ranieri and trialled as a No.10 by Ferrara, he has this season been given a run on the left side of a 4-3-3 by Pasquale Marino at Parma. It’s a position in which he had many successes as Italy’s great hope at under-21 level, latterly playing a key role in the Azzurrini side that reached the 2009 European Championship semi-finals alongside Robert Acquafresca and Mario Balotelli.

Season by season – How has Giovinco been handled?

Since the defeat to Germany in that last-four encounter, the Giovinco rollercoaster has continued at club level. But an upturn since arriving in Emilia-Romagna, backed by a coach who has shown faith in him, has been highlighted by a recent bittersweet brace away to Juve and a magnificent free-kick strike against Catania. He has quickly become the go-to man for the Gialloblu and arguably deserves the chance he will surely get in Dortmund tomorrow night.

But where exactly should Cesare Prandelli include Giovinco in his line-up? The 4-3-3 formation in which he has excelled has been far from a success for the Azzurri, as highlighted under Marcello Lippi at the World Cup, and if Giovinco struggles in amongst the tough guys in the centre of the pitch in the Italian top flight, then surely he is going to be fighting a losing battle in the trequartista spot internationally with players like Arne Freidrich and Sami Khedira paying him extra attention?

A clue as to the commisario tecnico’s intentions may have come in the squad listing, as Seba was included amongst the midfielders rather than forwards, which would suggest a spot high up on the left as part of a 4-3-3 is not in Prandelli’s immediate thoughts. Maybe he will get that shot at the No.10 role as an advanced midfielder-cum-playmaker. It may not work against Germany, but there shouldn’t be a knee-jerk response when handling a talent like Giovinco.

Wherever he’s included and whatever the seemingly worthy reasons for worrying about his long-term suitability to top class international football, there is absolutely no doubting his talent with a football at his feet. It is only right that he be given a chance to prove his worth to the Azzurri shirt, particularly given that this is an era of so few attackers of natural ability in the Italian game. And it is for this reason that he should be supported as much as possible as he takes his first steps intp the senior national game. If that means putting extra muscle in around him in the midfield, then so be it, because after Giovinco there is only really Diego Fabbrini emerging as a potential No.10 over the coming years. This is the right time for Gio’s bow. Now he just needs to be given the protection and support necessary to allow him to flourish as Italy’s next big hope.

Sebastian Giovinco has a chance of making his Parma loan from Juventus a permanent move following an explosive season thus far.

His agent Luca Pasqualin has told Goal.com Parma may use up their option to land the player, who turns 24 tomorrow, and keep him on a longer deal.

“There is an agreement to meet Juventus at the end of the season and we will respect that. We hope both clubs have clear ideas by then so we can define the player’s future,” Pasqualin told Goal.com Italia.

“We are happy with the way he is playing and scoring. We will leave him to carry on and then we will see what happens at the end of term.

“He is doing well at Parma now, we don’t know whether he would have done well at Juventus had he stayed.

“Juventus let him go? No, it was just simply a market operation.”

Parma forward Sebastian Giovinco has said his inspirational performance in their 4-1 win over Juventus is one he will not forget about anytime soon.

It was Giovinco’s double strike which sparked Parma into life at the Olimpico as they emerged convincing winners – and the significance is all the more sweeter for the 23-year-old who left Juventus on loan last summer.

“It was a nice emotion and it is what I had wanted ever since joining Parma. It was an important win despite the fact it was against Juve as it allowed us to move up in the table,” Giovinco told Sportsbook24.net.

“And then again it’s normal that a win against such a great team brings a particular flavour with it.

“I was very happy with my goals even though I did not celebrate. I was happy for the team, my colleagues and the city.

“However, we must not think that we are suddenly stronger after beating Juventus, we have to stay focused ahead of the Cagliari game.”

It’s October 2008 and the unusual figure of Sebastian Giovinco is sat in front of a plate of baccalà at the Due Spade, a legendary restaurant in Sandrigo just outside Vicenza. The young playmaker is happy. He has just put pen to paper on a five-year contract with Juventus.

It was a memorable event charged with symbolism, a rite of passage if you like, as 15 years ago Alessandro Del Piero had pledged himself to the Old Lady at the very same restaurant. This was supposed to be the start of a succession. Giovinco was the chosen one.

The boy from the old Beinasco quarter of Turin, just a stone’s throw away from Fiat’s offices, looked to have finally realised a dream. Just five years earlier he had been a ball boy stood in the centre circle at the Stadio Delle Alpi waving the Champions League flag up and down before one of Juventus’ many famous European nights. Now it seemed as though Giovinco was the future of the club.

“I am really happy,” he beamed. “The club’s confidence in me is a reason to be proud. I have been a Juventus fan since I was eight. I hope to stay here for life just like Del Piero because I want to win everything with this shirt.” In the weeks beforehand, Juventus’ Coach Claudio Ranieri had joked that the only reason he kept Giovinco on the bench was because he wanted him to sign a contract according to the club’s conditions. “Now I guess he’ll have to play,” Ranieri grinned.

Flash forward two years and Giovinco’s smile has turned into a frown. Though still only 23, his career is arguably at a crossroads. He joined Parma on loan in the summer with the Emilian side retaining the right to buy 50 per cent of his contract in June. Parma had their new Gianfranco Zola.

But to say Giovinco was bitter about the move is an understatement. Since August, he has not only promised to celebrate if he scores against Juventus, he has also said that he thinks “zero” about the Old Lady. The turnaround is quite shocking. The prospect of Giovinco returning to Turin appears slimmer by the day.

So who is at fault in this affair? Have Juventus failed him? Well, it’s a complicated question, the answer to which certainly isn’t black and white. Some Giovinco supporters claim he is a victim of Italy’s attitude towards young players. “If I were from Brazil or Argentina, maybe I’d have had more chances to play,” he said. “I regret being Italian.” After all, if a Flea can thrive in Barcelona, why can’t an Ant in Turin? Giovinco was initially hyped to be Italy’s Messi.

Nevertheless, pointing the finger of blame at Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta seems harsh especially considering his work in the summer brought the team’s average age down by four years to 25, the lowest in Serie A, and six of his signings this summer were Italian.

Juventus also changed direction tactically, reverting back to a 4-4-2 after failed experiments with both a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-1-2 under Ciro Ferrara, which were built around Diego. Under Claudio Ranieri, Giovinco had been Pavel Nedved’s deputy, playing on the left flank. Under Ferrara, in a squad that now effectively had no wingers, he was put in direct competition with Diego, Juventus’ €25m signing, and Alessandro Del Piero, their talisman.

Politically, it was a contest Giovinco was never going to win, and – putting injuries aside – a large part of the blame for that can be laid at Alessio Secco’s door, a director of sport who was frivolous in his treatment of Juventus’ youth products. Just ask Domenico Criscito and Raffaelle Palladino.

And yet in many respects of course, Giovinco was also another of Del Piero’s victims, joining the likes of Marco Di Vaio, Fabrizio Miccoli, Palladino and Diego as pretenders to his throne who ultimately had to admit defeat and move on.

Giovinco alluded to as much on Wednesday when Il Corriere dello Sport asked if his former mentor ever picks up the phone to check on his progress. “Del Piero?” Giovinco scoffed, raising his eyebrows. “No, he never called me. Besides, it’s not like he called me before when I was at Juve. Anyway he never said anything about me, about a possible staffetta between me and him. Perhaps he didn’t like me.”

The Atomic Ant now appears to have a case of little big man syndrome, which brings us on to another salient point about Giovinco’s recent travails – namely his size. The 23-year-old’s quality has never been up for debate. Yet when one considers he only stands at 5’3”, it’s perhaps only natural that question marks have been raised about whether his physical attributes are suited to playing at the very highest level in the modern game.

There is a sense among the footballing community in Italy that Giovinco is a gadget player with a unique yet mercurial skill set, and while there is some merit to this argument, one could also suggest that they either don’t know what to do with him or simply mistrust the player’s talent, a mistake Marcello Lippi and Fabio Capello made with Roberto Baggio.

And just like Baggio it seems, Giovinco will be exiled to the provinces where he’ll hopefully find the consistency he craves. His Serie A debut for Parma against Brescia was the perfect response to those who doubted him in Turin. Giovinco’s actions, notably his assist for Valeri Bojinov, had a much greater impact than the poison he aimed at Juventus during an injury lay-off in recent weeks.

I offer La Gazzetta dello Sport’s match report by way of conclusion. “This boy who wears Parma’s No 21 shirt was born to entertain, notwithstanding the fact nature hasn’t given him a Superman physique. But who cares about physique, athleticism and all that stuff when you have the sweet feet of a ballerina and you touch the ball like the strings of a violin.” Who cares indeed, for isn’t that what football is all about?

Follow James Horncastle @JamesHorncastle

Soure: www.football-italia.net

And he has blamed Alessandro Del Piero for his less than perfect time in Turin as his career foundered.

His time with La Vecchia Signora was ephemeral. Hopes were met with hindrance as he never played, and ultimately he was forced to leave in the summer.

“Did Del Piero call me during my injury? No. He never called me,” Giovinco told Il Corriere dello Sport.

“In any case, when I was at Juventus he never used to call me.

“He has never said anything on me. Was there tension between me and him? Maybe he never liked me.”

To address the problem, Giovinco thought it was best to move to Parma and construct his own legacy at the Ennio Tardini.

He has recovered from a downward spiral at Juventus to reshape his identity with the Ducali.

“I am getting back to my best form. It was important to come back against Roma. It gave me good signs. I have a good relationship with the coach too,” he added.

“Am I thinking of Juventus? No. Zero. My present is Parma and I want to think about this. The rest doesn’t count.”

Parma playmaker Sebastian Giovinco is still trying to understand why he failed to conquer Juventus.

Giovinco, co-owned by the two clubs, claims he was always docile whilst at Vinovo, but he was never given the chance to seize his place, leading him to leave for Parma in the summer.

“When Diego arrived I stayed to play my cards,” he told ‘Domenica Sportiva’.

“I played six games under [Ciro] Ferrara, and we got some excellent results.

“Then I never played again, and I don’t understand why.”