Martín Nicolás Benítez (born 17 June 1994) is an Argentine professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er who plays as an attacking midfielder for Brazilian club

América Mineiro The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Club career

Benítez began playing football in his home town team called ''The Picada''. He caught the eye of

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

who offered a trial that never materialized. As a result, Benitez quit football because of depression. He was encouraged back into football by his family and Independiente called him up for a trial in 2009. He travelled to the Netherlands with the reserve team to play a friendly against Ajax. Although the team lost 5–1, he scored the only goal against goalkeeper

Kenneth Vermeer Kenneth Harold Vermeer (born 10 January 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Vermeer has played for Jong Ajax, Willem II on loan, ...

. On October 13, 2011, he was called up to the first team by coach Ramón Díaz. His debut came on November 19, when Independiente defeated Club Olimpo 3-0 playing the last twenty minutes of the match. His debut goal came on December 4, 2011, against Newell's Old Boys in a 1–1 draw. His second goal via a header came on December 8, 2011, against San Lorenzo de Almagro.

International career

He has made 7 appearances with Argentina U-17 team scoring twice, participating in two tournaments. *

2011 South American U-17 Football Championship The 2011 South American Under-17 Football Championship ( es, link=no, Campeonato Sudamericano Sub-17 Ecuador 2011) was the 14th U-17 tournament for national teams affiliated with CONMEBOL. It was held in Ecuador from 12 March to 9 April 2011. Th ...

2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the fourteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and the eleventh played since the change in age limits from under 16s to Under 17s in 1991. It was held in Mexico with games being played amongst various venues ...

Honors

;Independiente *

Copa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Sudamericana, named as ''Copa Sudamericana'' (; pt, Copa Sul-Americana ), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 2002. It is the second-most prestigious club competition in South American ...

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;São Paulo *

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional association football, football league in the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. Run b ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

;Grêmio * Campeonato Gaúcho:

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* Recopa Gaúcha:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benitez, Martin 1994 births Living people Argentine men's footballers Argentina men's youth international footballers Club Atlético Independiente footballers Copa Sudamericana-winning players CR Vasco da Gama players São Paulo FC players Grêmio FBPA players América Futebol Clube (MG) players Argentine Primera División players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Campeonato Brasileiro Série B players Men's association football forwards Argentine expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Footballers from Posadas, Misiones