FEDERICO MACHEDA always knew Sir Alex Ferguson was a special manager.
But an unexpected phone call out of the blue this month – seven years after they last spoke – confirmed how much of a special man he is too.
And it hit home again how much the Italian striker regrets defying his legendary boss’ advice at Manchester United.
Macheda made his name in April 2009 with his famous injury-time winner against Aston Villa at Old Trafford as a 17-year-old debutant.
He then grabbed the decisive goal against Sunderland a week later as the Red Devils won the Premier League from Liverpool by four points.
The teenage wonderkid’s United career, though, did not live up to the early excitement as Macheda struggled for regular first-team minutes.
He went on three loans during Ferguson’s reign before two more following the gaffer’s retirement in 2013, then eventually left permanently for Cardiff in 2014.
His journeyman career includes spells in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus and he is now back in Greece with European-chasing Asteras Tripolis.
So nearly 12 years after they stopped working together, Macheda was taken aback when an unknown number phoned him earlier in February… and it was that iconic Glaswegian accent on the other end.
Macheda, 33, told SunSport: “All of a sudden I had a surprise call from him while I was driving with my wife.
“She said, ‘Stop the car.’ I didn’t have his number saved.
“We hadn’t spoken for six or seven years.
“Sir Alex called me just to know how I was, asking about my life, my family, my son, getting married.
“We had a very easy, good conversation about Greece, my time at Manchester United, United at the moment for seven or eight minutes.
“This surprise call made me understand that this guy is something else.
“He was always amazing with me but to speak to him lately was great because he keeps following his players. It made my day because I owe him so much.”
As with many young talents, Macheda signed for Manchester United because of Ferguson’s personal appeal.
His quality in the Lazio academy impressed a scout so when the Red Devils played at Roma in the Champions League quarter-finals in April 2007, classy Fergie reached out.
Macheda explained: “I was away with Italy Under-16s. Sir Alex invited my family to the hotel. They spoke about everything.
“Sir Alex gave my family a United shirt with my name and the No9.
“My father called me and told me that the situation was serious. He told me to leave everything. It’s not every day Sir Alex does these kinds of things.
“At 15, I never thought I would leave Rome for another country, another city, my friends and family. But after this, I was convinced.”
Federico Macheda’s career in numbers
CLUB (ALL COMPS)
2008–2014 – Manchester United: 36 appearances (5 goals)
2011 – Sampdoria (loan): 16 (1)
2012 – Queens Park Rangers (loan): 6 (0)
2013 – VfB Stuttgart (loan): 18 (0)
2013–2014 – Doncaster Rovers (loan): 15 (3)
2014 – Birmingham City (loan): 18 (10)
2014–2016 – Cardiff City: 33 (8)
2016 – Nottingham Forest (loan): 3 (0)
2016–2018 – Novara: 52 (11)
2018–2022 – Panathinaikos: 116 (40)
2022–2024 – Ankaragucu: 41 (6)
2023 – APOEL (loan): 17 (2)
2024– – Asteras Tripolis: 21 (6)
INTERNATIONAL
2006–2007 – Italy U16: 10 (2)
2007–2008 – Italy U17: 3 (0)
2009 – Italy U19: 1 (0)
2009–2012 – Italy U21: 10 (4)
HONOURS
Manchester United
- Premier League: 2008-09, 2010-11
- League Cup: 2009–10
- Jimmy Murphy Academy Player of the Year: 2008–09
Panathinaikos
Macheda officially joined United in September 2007, the month after turning 16, and made his memorable bow two years on from that hotel meeting.
Ferguson’s strikeforce featured Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and a teenage Danny Welbeck as they battled rivals Liverpool for the 2008-09 Premier League.
But a shortage ahead of the must-win Villa clash meant Ferguson turned to Macheda.
He said: “The strikers had some problems: Rooney suspended, Tevez coming back from Argentina and Berbatov injured.
“So Sir Alex came to me on the Wednesday at Carrington and said if I did well that night in the reserves at St James’ Park, I had a good chance of being in the first team on Sunday. I was shocked.
“That night I scored a hat-trick and made sure this was my moment.”
Lo and behold, Ferguson named Macheda on the bench against Villa and, trailing 2-1 on the hour mark, summoned him – although the youngster initially thought Fergie was calling for Welbeck next to him.
The rest is history.
Ronaldo equalised then in the 93rd minute, Macheda received Ryan Giggs’ pass, turned with a brilliant backheel then curled a perfect finish inside the far post beyond Brad Friedel, sparking wild scenes.
Macheda insists he has never seen dressing room celebrations like it since as Fergie hugged his golden boy and United’s biggest stars kissed the hero.
His instinctive goal against Sunderland helped Ferguson boldly declare Macheda was the best finisher at the club at the time.
The Scot clearly had a special affection for the young Rome native and held high hopes for his Old Trafford career to flourish into much more than five goals in 36 appearances.
But Macheda admits he didn’t understand the mentality and effort required to fulfil his potential.
And going against his gaffer’s wisdom on the best steps for his development still pains the striker.
Macheda first went out on loan to Sampdoria for the second half of the 2010-11 season before brief stints with QPR and Stuttgart under Fergie’s watch.
But he was too young and naive to realise it was not because Ferguson was giving up on him.
I regret it. Sir Alex knew better and I didn’t. I was a kid.
Federico Macheda
Macheda added: “Sir Alex liked me a lot and told everybody I was the best finisher in the club.
“His plan was to make me play every week and come back ready for the first team.
“I didn’t want to go on loan because I was playing more than previous years and thought my development was going well.
“I was a little bit disappointed but said, ‘OK, if that’s what he wants, I have to do it.’
“I had seven or eight offers from the Premier League. Sir Alex tried to convince me to stay there to see me up close but I had an offer from Italy and decided to go.
“Now I regret it but at that moment, it was my decision.
“I thought going on loan for six months was nothing. I was wrong. Six-month loans never helped me.
“Sir Alex didn’t react badly. He just gave me the OK. He knew better and I didn’t. I was a kid.
“You should listen to people who know better about everything.”
Federico Macheda’s goal vs Aston Villa
FEDERICO MACHEDA’S life changed forever when he scored a 93rd-minute winner to secure a crucial 3-2 win over Aston Villa on April 5, 2009.
Sent on for Nani at 2-1 down, Macheda came up trumps with his epic turn and finish into the corner – a goal that lives long in the memory for all United fans.
Here’s what Macheda remembers of that special day…
On finding out he would play
“We were short of strikers because Rooney, Tevez and Berbatov were unavailable. We had a reserve game at Newcastle on the Wednesday. Sir Alex said if I did well I might be in the first team on Sunday. I scored a hat-trick. Against Villa we were 2-1 down and on 60 minutes he called to me. I thought he was calling Danny Welbeck but he shouted again. It was my time. I went on and I was so sure of myself. I told all my friends that if I played, I would score.”
On the finish
“It just came in a moment. My technical abilities were pretty good. At this moment I wasn’t thinking about too much when I had the ball. It just came and I knew I had the chance to try and do something good. My instinct told me to do this. It was perfect.”
On Martin Tyler’s commentary
“The goal and the commentary are iconic. It’s the moment and the celebration from the fans. It’s something that remains. It’s not easy to have those kinds of moments in football.”
On the dressing room
“The dressing room was electrifying. When you win a game, it should be like this. But it was more than this. I was all over the place. I don’t know if I’ve seen this atmosphere again. Everybody was coming around me, kissing me, hugging me. Big players came to me to celebrate me. Sir Alex hugged me.”
On the man-of-the-match champagne and celebrations
“I didn’t drink it, I still haven’t. Gary Neville gave it to me afterwards. But I never drank it. Now it’s in my family’s house. My mother and father still love it. We went to a restaurant with my family. My goal was showing everywhere. I felt shy to see myself on TV. Everybody was talking about the goal.”
On the goal’s legacy
“It’s part of me of course. It was probably the most famous goal I scored. For sure it changed my life. My target when I went to Manchester was to play only one time for this club in this stadium. I was dreaming about a moment like this. Maybe that moment was even better than my dreams. Because everything was perfect.”
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