Key Biscayne teen Benja Cremaschi living a dream playing with Messi at Inter Miami

Inter Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi, the gutsy Key Biscayne teenager, walked confidently toward the penalty box Sunday night, having just informed coach Tata Martino that he wanted to take the fifth and decisive penalty kick on the road in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 game against FC Dallas.

He put the ball down, and without hesitating, placed his shot into the bottom right corner, sending Inter Miami to Friday’s quarterfinal. Lionel Messi broke into a huge grin, pumped a fist and sprinted across the field to celebrate with the 18-year-old, who had scored a goal earlier in the night, minutes after entering the game as a second-half sub.

Watching incredulously were Pablo and Jimena Cremaschi, Benja’s parents, who never in their wildest dreams imagined their son would wind up as Messi’s teammate.

The Cremaschis were born and raised in Argentina. Pablo played for the Argentine national rugby team, and Jimena was a top field hockey player. After moving to South Florida 20 years ago, they remained obsessed with Argentine sports, and passed that passion on to their four children.

Needless to say, they were huge fans of FC Barcelona and rarely missed a game Messi played. So, the sight of their son celebrating with the Argentine icon is still hard for them to process.

“It is unthinkable what is happening,” the proud father told the Miami Herald on Tuesday. “We can’t fully wrap our heads around the idea that Benjamin scores a goal and Messi comes to congratulate him. Honestly, the reality of that has not hit us yet.

“We are a very typical Argentine family. We have lived here for 20 years, but we stay very connected with our Argentine culture, following Argentine soccer around the world and we have always been big fans of Messi.”

Cremaschi wears No. 30 as an homage to Messi, who wore that number early on with Barcelona and then with Paris Saint-Germain. He admits he was nervous when he first met Messi, but the humble star was personable and disarming and made his new teammates feel at ease right away. After one month, Cremaschi feels as comfortable around Leo Messi as he does around Leo Campana.

“Obviously, I’m a big fan and always will be, even playing with him I am a huge fan of his and what he does and who he is,” Benja Cremaschi told the Herald on Wednesday. “It’s amazing to be sharing the pitch, and not only the pitch, but sharing day to day life with him.

“When I found out he was coming, I was wondering what he would be like. I was creating scenarios in my head of who he would be as a person. And it’s amazing that who I thought he was, he’s even better. It’s nice to have someone at that level be very humble and very caring.”

Pablo Cremaschi, a manager at Out Front Media advertising firm, has been surprised by his son’s calm demeanor around the Argentine legend, especially considering the kid makes $69,360 per year and Messi’s contract package is valued at $150 million, not counting his sponsorship deals with Adidas and Apple.

“I don’t want to add more pressure to him, but I have asked him, `Do you understand you are playing with Messi?’ and he laughs,” the father said. “For me it would be like having a conversation with Michael Jordan. Messi is a huge sports figure, but Benjamin already talks about Leo as if he’s his friend, like another person. And that speaks to Messi’s humility.”

Benja Cremaschi and his two brothers grew up playing soccer and rugby, as their father started a youth rugby club in Key Biscayne. But he loved soccer a little more. He started at Key Biscayne Soccer Club and then played for Weston FC.

He was invited to try out for the Inter Miami youth academy as a 15-year-old, along with other Weston teammates, but Cremaschi did not make the second cut. He shed some tears, but vowed to keep improving. A few years later, after a standout performance at the MLS Next Cup in Dallas, he was invited back to Inter Miami camp, and that time, he stuck.

Cremaschi, who attended MAST Academy through his sophomore year before doing online high school, also had college offers from Clemson, UNC, Penn State, and Colorado, among others. He figured he would go that route. His mother was pushing for college over turning pro.

“But once that contract was in front of me, it was hard to turn down,” Cremaschi said, smiling.

“We had long talks, telling Benja that he would be giving up great opportunities to go to university if he turned pro, but that was the path he chose,” said his father. The parents did insist that the contract include online college tuition, and Benja will begin taking classes this fall.

His sister, Juana, 23, got a marketing degree at FIU and is starting a master’s program at NYU. His brother Segundo, 22, was a finance major at FIU. Younger brother, Santi, 16, goes to MAST and plays at Kendall Soccer Academy.

Cremaschi said it helps having parents who played sports, as they know how to support without meddling.

“I think it’s very important for parents to know their roles, to make sure it is the kid’s dream, not yours,” Pablo Cremaschi said. “I have run across a lot of parents who get too wrapped up in their kids’ careers, who want to give their opinions, and act like they know more than the coaches and referees. And at the end of the day, all that does is confuse the kids.”

Cremaschi credits his Weston coach Chris Nurse for believing in him early on, and his sports psychologist, former Argentine Olympic swimmer Augustina DeGiovanni, for boosting his confidence this season. Fitness coach Claudio Galazzo, who trained tennis stars David Nalbandian and Monica Puig, has also been instrumental.

Inter Miami assistant coach Javi Morales, who worked with Cremaschi at the academy, says it is the teen’s mentality that sets him apart. “He’s a winner, and always wants to learn. He asks a lot of questions. He is also smart enough and mature enough to deal with the pressure.”

Never was that more evident than Sunday.

“We still get emotional and are surprised by this movie we are watching,” the elder Cremaschi said. “It is difficult for us to understand that our son is playing already at that level with those stars. When they said on TV, `Cremaschi will take the fifth PK,’ I almost died. I was like `No, please, no.’ But once I saw him walk out there, I was calm. I knew he’d make it. That’s Benja.”