A frustrated Lionel Messi walked out of the field Wednesday after a Miami team was exposed in an emphasis on the young Vancouver Whites.

Their 3-1 loss in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal means a 5-1 victory over the Canadian team, and no one watching the game will question whether the scoring line is a reflection of the game.

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A Miami team built around Messi, along with a series of senior former teammates from Barcelona’s heyday – Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba – backed up primarily by traveler players from South America, showing them their age against a faster and faster and more acute white team in all areas.

Last year, Miami won the Supporters Shield - the best regular season record in the MLS and a record battle, but the attempt to squeeze out a year of squeezing out of the tired legs of the old Barcelona boy proved a mistake.

The 38-year-old Suarez, who liked Messi scored 20 goals in the MLS last year, looks totally draining now, his legs no longer allow him to take the position of his experience, telling him he needs to do it.

Busquets is a shadow of his once outstanding midfielder and a regret for Alba, though still an offensive threat, but seems to have been allowed to ignore his defensive duties.

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Although Messi is still capable of providing a great reel moment, he is 37 and certainly needs and hungry, but the young man is willing to run for him all day, not the good company of his equally old friends.

Another old Barcelona teammate, Javier Mascherano, also played with Messi on the Argentine National Team, amplifying the issue by leaving young, local choices on the bench, while the Whitecaps cheerfully accepted the space they left on the court.

- "They can't run, they can't defend" -

"Vancouver showed Miami International's weaknesses. Because they couldn't run, they couldn't defend, and the team wasn't balanced. Because the five continued to move forward, while the other five tried to defend. They couldn't defend."

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Vancouver's Danish coach Jasper Sorensen was diplomatic in his post-match analysis, but some candid moments reveal the truth about Mascherano and Messi.

"I think it's possible to say we have a young team and a team that can run and compete at a high intensity," he said.

“I think we were really strong at the start of the second half and using the court was very open and they had some players to keep the lead so we had to defend with a few guys and I just said ‘Keep running, run, run and move forward…’

There are indeed some players in Miami who stay ahead rather than helping in the midfield, and this approach simply cannot compete with a high-capacity side like the Whitecaps.

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Mascherano said he is now focusing on domestic MLS sports and hasn't even considered June's FIFA Club World Cup.

However, this challenge will soon be in Miami, which will kick off the game against Egypt on global TV stations before facing Portuguese giants Porto and Brazilian Parcilas.

If they replicate the performances against white people in two games, Miami has the potential to feel embarrassed on the global stage.

For MLS, a hard-working league is known for its reputation as a "retirement home" for European club veterans, and their most highly-received club looks too old to keep up, which is a clear danger.

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Messi's moment was supposed to take MLS to the next level - now there is the danger that Miami's bad hiring choices actually disappear from the real progress that happened on the spot, so the Whites were well proven Wednesday.

SEV/RCW