Superstars, and home-grown talent, kicking South Florida into soccer Big Time | Key Biscayne

Swaying palm trees, silky sand, aqua waters … and soccer?

Key Biscayne is getting noticed for its “futbol” — especially at a time when all eyes are on the World Cup in Qatar.

Legendary Lionel Messi has been in the headlines this week, reportedly close to joining Inter Miami CF by 2024. But, the Key Biscayne Soccer Club also has been linked to the Major League Soccer team with two recent announcements.

Co-owned by David “Bend it Like” Beckham, Inter Miami CF signed Key Biscayne native Benjamin Cremaschi, 17, to a three-year deal, with two additional option years, becoming the first youth player from Marcelo Radice’s organization to sign with an MLS team.

“It’s great to see what kind of kid he was at age 5, when he started, until when he left us at 14,” Radice said. “He was very talented to the point back then, three years ago, he was ready to take it to another level and tried out for the Weston Academy. We (don’t have an academy) here, but we’ve become sort of a pipeline for other academies.”

Cremaschi, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound midfielder with an Argentine heritage, joins Noah Allen, Edison Azcona, Ian Fray and Felipe Valencia as the first Homegrown Player signings to graduate from the club’s Academy team to the First Team (reserve) in Inter Miami history.

“Signing for my hometown team, playing at home in front of my family and friends is a dream come true,” Cremaschi said.

“Definitely a long shot,” said Radice, who was born in Argentina. “Only a small percentage get to that level. We have thousands, probably 25,000, soccer players down here in South Florida, so to be one of 22 or 23 players …”

The Key Biscayne Soccer Club also was among 32 selected across Miami-Dade, Collier, Palm Beach and Broward counties to participate in Inter Miami CF’s Academy Partner Program and Discovery Program.

“It’s a nice accomplishment; we’re only among a handful of non-academy teams selected,” said Radice, who founded the Key Biscayne Soccer Club with a group of parents in 2012. “It validates how we are developing players.”

Part of the partnership allows Key Biscayne coaches to attend seminars, host friendly matches with other clubs, and some players can be invited into the Discovery Program for further instruction and evaluation.

“Over time, they’ve seen a lot of quality players here, especially on the boys side, and Benjamin is one example of that,” Radice said. “We’ve had six or seven players on academy teams that graduated from the youth development program and others who have gone back to their country to play professionally.”

Last year, the Key Biscayne Soccer Club was one of eight selected by Inter Miami for monthly showcase games with other teams in the U-13, U-14 and U-15 divisions.

“That was great. It gives our kids the pathway (to a possible soccer career) and see how motivated they really are,” Radice said.

Cremaschi is among three brothers who were raised on Key Biscayne and who have excelled at soccer. Should he advance to the traveling “A” team, that squad could soon be practicing and playing at Inter Miami’s new Freedom Park rather than in Fort Lauderdale, where the parent team currently trains and plays.

After joining Inter Miami in August 2021, Cremaschi rapidly ascended through its youth ranks. He starred at the U-17 level, where he helped guide the team to the GA Cup semifinal and earned an MLS NEXT All-Star nod; in the All-Star game, Cremaschi scored an equalizing goal en route to a victory for the East.

He also excelled at the MLS NEXT Pro level with Inter Miami CF II, making his professional debut and going on to score five goals and one assist in just 743 minutes of play across 13 appearances, eight of them starts.

After spending his entire youth career with the Key Biscayne Soccer Club, Cremaschi played for Weston FC for three years and helped guide its U-16 team to the 2021 MLS NEXT Cup title, claiming the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player.

Most recently, he was called up to the U-20 Men’s Youth National Team for a week-long training camp in Frisco, Texas, where the squad trained alongside the senior U.S. Men’s National Team as it made its final preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Cremaschi also is eligible to represent Argentina.

The Key Biscayne Soccer Club has 950 kids involved this year – 550 of those in competitive leagues.

“It shows that the majority of kids on Key Biscayne want to play,” Radice said. “It’s become an ethnic community, primarily Latin, South America. They come here with the desire to play soccer.”