It was business as usual for Lionel Messi during the recent international break with the World Cup-winning Argentine scoring goals and winning games.
Messi's beautiful left-footed finish inside 80 seconds of the friendly victory over Australia in Beijing – delighting a capacity 68,000 crowd of Chinese fans, a vast majority of whom sported the blue and white kit of Argentina, most with the same five-letter name on the back – has been recognised as the fastest goal the 36-year-old has ever scored.
Initial reports were unsure whether it was merely the quickest he had scored for his country or in his entire career; when you have hit the target more than 800 times for club and country, lines can become blurred.
The next time Messi pulls on a football shirt it will be for his new club side Inter Miami. The reception he receives will be one of reverence as the biggest signing in Major League Soccer history.
Messi finished his time in France with Paris Saint-Germain by winning a second Ligue 1 title in a row – his 12th domestic championship as a player – but the chances of him making it 13 in the United States this season appear slim, to say the least.
At the weekend, Miami were hammered 4-1 away to Philadelphia Union, a result that leaves them bottom of the 15-team Eastern Conference. It was a seventh consecutive defeat, having also lost six on the trot earlier in the campaign.
Only Colorado Rapids in the Western Conference have accrued less than Miami's 15 points from 18 games and the club, co-owned by former England star David Beckham, are in dire straights.
To play a part in the end of season play-offs, Miami need to finish in the top nine; they are 11 points shy of the final spot.
“We are hurting and the feeling after this match is bad,” said interim coach Javi Morales after the Philadelphia game. “If you look at the control of the game, the possession, the moments in which we dominated the match, there were many, but when a team doesn’t defend well, it’s very difficult to win.”
Midfielder Robert Taylor, who scored Miami's consolation at Subaru Park, admitted morale was low. “Obviously, nobody’s happy, it’s tough right now,” he said. “But there is no time to feel sorry for ourselves.
“We see and read the rumours [of players coming], but that does not affect us. We have to focus on the game at hand.”
Morales is in temporary charge having taken over from Phil Neville, who had cut an increasingly beleaguered figure during his final weeks and his exit was no surprise.
During the his final game in charge – a 1-0 defeat at home to New York Red Bulls – fans jeered Neville and booed his 20-year-old son Harvey every time the right-back touched the ball.
“Please, just come for me,” said the manager about the crowd reaction, “don’t go for one of my boys, don’t go for one of my young kids because that hurts, that’s personal.”
A day later, Neville Snr was gone. “Sometimes in this game we have to make the toughest decisions and sadly we feel the time is right to make a change,” said Beckham, Neville’s former Manchester United and England teammate.
Hopes for a results bump under Neville's assistant Moreno have failed to materialise with the Argentine having overseen three defeats and reports suggest he will soon be replaced by Messi's former coach at Barcelona – Gerardo 'Tata' Martino.
So it will all be uncharted territory for Messi and his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets who both join up with their new club next month.
The lowest Messi and Busquets finished during their storied careers at Barca was third, but their impact is going to have to be immediate and spectacular if they are to add a US title to their combined total of 75 major trophies.
Messi is expected to make his debut against Mexican side Cruz Azul on July 21 in the group stage of the Leagues Cup, which features teams from MLS and Mexico's Liga MX.
And while fresh silverware is unlikely to be heading Messi and Miami's way this season, principle owner Jorge Mas is looking at the bigger picture. “I think there will always be a before and after Messi when we talk about the sport in the United States,” he told the Miami Herald.
“I have a very, very strong held belief that we can create in North America and the United States if not the greatest league, one of the top two leagues in the world. I cannot over emphasise the magnitude of this announcement.”
