MIAMI — A vibrant rainbow appeared over the Inter Miami training session on Friday morning, perhaps a sign of brighter days ahead for Lionel Messi and his team, who have suffered through a treacherous August.

Stuck in a five-game winless rut, the club made a coaching change Thursday night, replacing Guillermo Hoyos with Cristian “Kily” Gonzalez, 52, another Argentine with ties to Messi who was born and raised in Messi’s hometown of Rosario.

Gonzalez previously coached Argentine clubs Platense and Rosario Central and will report to the Inter Miami training facility as soon as his visa paperwork goes through.

In the meantime, Hoyos, who took over as interim coach in April after Javier Mascherano’s unexpected resignation, will remain in charge; although, he will not be on the sideline for the Saturday’s home game against CF Montreal because he was suspended one game by MLS for his team reporting to the field late after halftime in four of the past six games.

Despite losing his position as head coach and having to serve a suspension, Hoyos appeared in a jovial mood Friday morning. He said he plans to stay with the club in a yet-to-be-determined role.

Hoyos, a longtime friend of the Messi family, last January had his role expanded from director of player development and methodology of the second team to being directly involved in scouting and roster construction of the first team.

“Honestly, I am very grateful to everyone for having an opportunity to live this dream,” Hoyos said. “I am thankful to God, who put me in this place and all the club’s personnel, the players, the best player of all time [Messi], great players who have made history like Luis [Suarez], Rodri [Rodrigo De Paul], World Cup champions, national team players. It was a beautiful opportunity, and I will keep supporting the club going forward.”

Hoyos added that he fully understands and supports the coaching change and vowed to help Gonzalez with the transition.

“I am sure when Kily gets here, we will meet, we are available for whatever he needs,” he said. “We [he and his staff] are members of this club. We are good people and have been very happy here. It is not a drama, all of this. On the contrary, it’s a chance for the team to evolve and grow and we have to support that.”

Hoyos said he is not sure what his next role will be, but he wants to continue working for the club.

“There are a lot of people I love here, it’s not just a job,” he said.

“We came in and had to take over a situation, assume responsibility, and now they found a person who I think is ideal for this job, very capable and can help us bring the club to the level it needs to be. It’s very clear. The great players out there will express themselves the way they did with us. I think it’s a good move by the club and we all must support it.”

Hoyos was asked how much influence Messi has in the hiring of coaches. He replied: “I think he has the same involvement as any players of that greatness and magnitude. I imagine it is the same in other places. In Boca [Juniors] I am sure they consult [Leandro] Paredes because he is a big figure in Boca and a suggestion from players like that for a potential coach is normal.”

Gonzalez will be Miami’s sixth head coach in seven seasons, seventh if you count the few months Javi Morales served as interim coach.

Defender Ian Fray, a Coconut Creek native and product of Inter Miami’s youth academy, has been around for all those coaches.

“It’s difficult, everyone has a different style of play, a new way of looking at pressing and defending,” Fray said. “It’s similar to what happened with Mascherano and Guille came in and did a good job, and now we have to go with the next one.

“My feelings about the change don’t matter. I’m just happy to be here and whoever is coaching our team I’m just happy to play on the team.”

Fray said he initially found out about the news on Instagram after waking up from a nap and then saw a message from the team.

Inter Miami is hungry to get back on track after the recent slump. The team has given up 13 goals over the past five games, resulting in four losses and one tie. Although Miami remains in second place in the East, it slipped 10 points behind Nashville. Also, Miami is tied with FC Cincinnati for most MLS goals scored (49) this season, but ranks third from the bottom of the East in goals allowed (40).

“We play a really attacking style of play, but also especially being part of the back line, we have to do a way better job of being tighter on our players, not making any mistakes,” Fray said. “When you have a really attacking team you have to be really solid in the back. The back four and one midfielder need to be more compact.”

The defense will be thin on Saturday with injuries to Sergio Reguilon, Gonzalo Lujan and Micael. And although Montreal is in 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings, the team has been energized by the arrival of Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, who was a teammate of Messi’s at Barcelona from 2011 to 2014 and also played at Arsenal, Manchester United, Inter Miami, Marseilles and Sevilla.

When Inter Miami played Montreal on the road on July 25, the game was scoreless for 80 minutes before Suarez scored the lone goal for the win in the 81st minute on a penalty kick.

That goal came after German Berterame left the field in an ambulance he blacked out following a hit to the head. He remained on concussion protocol for six games and returned to the lineup last weekend.

“Obviously, we’re not happy,” Fray said. “We haven’t won in five games. For our standards, for anyone’s standards, that’s not great. But we’re the defending champions and we’re second in the league. We don’t feel pressure from the media. We know what we can do. We know what we’re capable of. We won the Cup last year.”

Hoyos has high expectations for the game Saturday.

“It will be spectacular from the standpoint of the Barcelona history [between Sanchez, Messi and Suarez] and that Alexis has had a great career, as well,” Hoyos said. “For sure it will be a spectacular game, and we will win.”

The game on Saturday kicks off at Nu Stadium at 7:30 p.m. and will air on Apple TV.

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