David Beckham has got used to his plans being torn up and redesigned since deciding to take on an MLS franchise six years ago, so Thursday's news that the 2020 season will be decided by a 26-team tournament in Orlando in July seems a rather fitting end to a turbulent debut campaign for Inter Miami.
For a project fraught with difficulties from the start, the coronavirus crisis is just another bump in the road for Beckham, who will no doubt endeavour to continue to overcome the challenges thrown at him - just as he did in a glittering playing career which took in a five-year stint in MLS in its twilight.
But the former England captain could be forgiven for thinking his Miami project is cursed, or at least giving his trademark wry smile at the latest news.
In February 2014, shortly after retiring, Beckham exercised a clause in his MLS contract signed when joining LA Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007 to buy a franchise for just $25million (£19.5m). If that seemed like a bargain, then he has paid for it since.
Before anyone in the US knew what coronavirus was, Beckham was struggling to get Inter Miami ready for their MLS bow. Their new £50m training complex at Fort Lauderdale was completed just weeks before the start of the season, with their manager, Uruguayan Diego Alonso, only being confirmed 62 days before it began.
The biggest saga of all regarding Inter Miami though has been their stadium, with the franchise having to settle on hastily getting ready Fort Lauderdale Strikers' old 18,000-seater home - 35 miles north of downtown Miami - after they were refused permission to build on several sites nearer the city centre.
The long-term plan is to move into the $1billion Miami Freedom Park in 2022, though that date could yet be put back owing to coronavirus-related delays.
For the foreseeable future, Fort Lauderdale will have to do, but Inter Miami had yet to play a match at their home when the season was suspended after just two matches on March 12.
The campaign had begun with successive narrow defeats against Los Angeles FC and DC United - not ideal but to be expected away to superior opposition.
What is more concerning though, was the franchise's failure to bring in any big names despite being linked with a plethora of stars. Gareth Bale, David Silva, Cesc Fabregas, Luka Modric, Luis Suarez, Diego Costa, Edinson Cavani and James Rodriguez have all been linked - and Beckham even confidently spoke about trying to lure Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to the club in the future. He told Jimmy Fallon: 'As with any owner, you really want the best players and if we have the opportunity to bring in players like Cristiano or Leo, I have such admiration for them as athletes, if we could bring those players in then great.'
As it is though, the most familiar name in their squad is Lewis Morgan, the young Scottish winger who was on loan at Sunderland from Celtic in League One last season. There is a core of hispanic players - led by Mexican midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro and Argentinian winger Matias Pellegrini - which is the logical recruitment road for the club to go down given Miami's demographic and proximity to Latin America.
Beckham remains confident that he can recruit big-name players and had left one of his three 'designated player' - one outside the salary cap - spots open for a summer recruit, to tie in with the end of the European seasons. His plans may be scuppered by coronavirus again though, with European leagues now not finishing until late July, when the MLS's tournament will be all but over.
While Beckham has a lot of thinking to do regarding recruitment and the stadium, at least Alonso and his players now know where they stand regarding the 2020 MLS season after a row between players and administrators was settled this week.
The players' union have agreed to salary cuts during the pandemic and plans to finish the season with a World Cup-style tournament in Orlando, just over 200 miles from Inter Miami's base in Fort Lauderdale.
While Beckham's franchise will be tipped for a swift exit whatever the format of the 26-team tournament, especially if they can't bring in a third designated player in time, it represents a shot to nothing to turn a disastrous debut season into a success.
One thing is for sure, things can only get better for Beckham from here.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com