MLS' next Messi moment coming in Salt Lake

It was one of the great soccer moments of the year.

In what otherwise was a relatively meaningless regular season La Liga match against Granada on Tuesday, Lionel Messi found a way to capture the world's imagination again after setting the new all-time scoring record for FC Barcelona.

It got us thinking: Two weeks into the 2012 MLS campaign, which team is nearest to a similar Messi moment and crowning a new all-time leading scorer?

It can happen as soon as this weekend for Real Salt Lake, where red-hot Fábian Espíndola (28) is just one goal behind Robbie Findley (29). Álvaro Saborío (23) isn't too far behind, either.

In the case of expansion side Montreal, as well as Vancouver and Portland, who are in only their second MLS seasons, it's way too early to follow.

But a 14-goal season by Danny Mwanga in Philadelphia and a 25-goal season from Chris Wondolowski in San Jose could make those all-time races ones to watch.

Otherwise the leads in many MLS cities are safe, especially in places like D.C. (Jaime Moreno scored 131 goals) and New England (Taylor Twellman registered 101).