What makes Inter Miami, USMNT teen Benjamin Cremaschi such a promising talent

Life moves pretty quickly for all of us, but I can guarantee it’s moved even quicker for Benjamin Cremaschi than the average person over the last year.

Imagine, for a moment, being an Argentinian kid growing up playing soccer in the United States…and all of a sudden, Lionel Messi walks through the door and becomes your teammate. Cremaschi, 18, doesn’t have to imagine that reality. He’s living in it. Born in Miami, Cremaschi’s dad is a former rugby player who played for Argentina in the 1990s and his entire family holds dual citizenship with the U.S. and Argentina.

Cremaschi is less than a year into his professional career — he signed his first pro contract with Inter Miami in November, 2022 — but he’s already playing alongside the greatest of all time. On top of teaming up with Messi at club level, there’s been a stir surrounding Cremaschi’s international future. After appearing for the United States at youth level and popping up in a U-20 training camp for Argentina, the young midfielder was called up to the U.S. men’s national team by Gregg Berhalter for their September friendlies.

How’s that for a series of life-changing moments?

Now, even after a professional contract, time with Messi, and a senior U.S. call-up, Cremaschi is far from the finished product. It’s likely that his status as a dual-national played into Berhalter’s decision to call him into camp, given his performances in MLS haven’t demanded the national team’s full attention. For the USMNT, calling Cremaschi is more speculative than anything else. Still, underneath some national team politics is a very talented young soccer player.

What makes Cremaschi such a promising midfielder? And where does he need to improve? Let’s dig in.

Cremaschi's strengths

“He immediately caught my eye for his tenacity and his relentlessness,” Berhalter said, recounting his experience watching Cremaschi in camp with the U.S. U-20s. “He’s a kid who’s playing out of position at camp, playing winger, sometimes forward. But he never quit. He never gave up. He kept running, I mean, he was running himself silly. And it really showed me what his mindset was like.”