The Italian striker etched his name into United folklore with a stunning winner against Aston Villa in 2009. Since then, he has not just disappeared from Manchester United but from the sites of many footballing fans around the world. We take a look at what’s happened with the Italian during and since his time at the club.
At just 15 years old, Federico Macheda was signed by Manchester United to their youth team from Lazio. He was sent straight into under-18s side for the club and even made a reserves appearance not too long after that. On his 17th birthday, he signed a professional contract with the club and made a string of appearances in the reserve team to end his season.
On April 5, 2009, Macheda didn’t just become another name to don a Manchester United uniform, he put his name amongst folklore with a winner against Aston Villa which even had Martin Tyler cracking his voice. After coming on for Nani just after the hour mark down 2-1, Ronaldo would score with just about ten minutes to play. Macheda hit his winner on a marvelous turn and strike to give United all three points.
Since then, Macheda would make appearances in cup matches or Champions League matches against lower-tiered teams. Injuries hampered the rest of his Manchester United career and multiple loan moves ensued.
Loan moves to Sampdoria and QPR happened after his injuries and were followed by moves to Stuttgart, Doncaster, and Birmingham City. After he was released from Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signed him to Cardiff City at the end of last season. He currently has scored five goals in 20 appearances for the Cardiff.
At age 23, Macheda is still a young player and could have a decent career in front of him. It’s a shame that his career never really developed with the Red Devils after the promise he showed in the reserves plus the glimpses of brilliance we saw of him during his time in the senior team. It really would have been interesting to see how Macheda would have fit into this Manchester United team, but we’ll never find out.