The evening heat in Washington DC on a Sunday evening seems to get ever more intense as the sun drops low and in the changing rooms at Audi Field, Wayne Rooney is one of the last pulling on his shoes and finding a drink for his oldest son Kai, dribbling a ball around the treatment tables.

This is Rooney’s life now at DC United’s brand new stadium, an unusual compact 20,000-capacity ground with some seats open to the elements and as many places to eat and drink as one would expect of an American venue. Rooney has just scored twice in a 2-1 win over Chicago Fire and his team are on a roll, chasing a play-off place with an extraordinary turnaround since their new No 9 arrived. His winning penalty took his tally to nine in 15 games of which nine have been victories and only three defeats.

He chats afterwards to the local media wrapped in a towel, wiping sweat from his brow in a small annex off the main changing room. This is how it works in Major League Soccer in this compact “soccer-specific” stadium, on the southern tip of the United States capital, alongside the 200-year-old US Army base Fort Lesley J McNair. The base was originally built as a fort to keep the British out and now the most famous British footballer of his generation stares down from the billboards onto the vast barracks.