Federico Macheda

Early career

Macheda was born in Rome, Lazio. He began his football career with Lazio's youth team after being spotted at the local Atletico Prenestino club in Rome. However, due to Italian football regulations preventing under-18s from signing professional contracts, he was not permanently tied to the club, and shortly after his 16th birthday, he was signed by Manchester United of England, where regulations permit the signing of players aged 16 and over. Following his family's relocation to England, he officially joined the club as a trainee on 16 September 2007.

Manchester United

Macheda went straight into the Manchester United Under-18 side, and scored the only goal of the game on his debut, a 1–0 away win over Barnsley on 15 September 2007. In his first season with the club, he finished as the Under-18s' top scorer with a total of 12 goals in 21 appearances, and also made his debut for the reserves on 26 February 2008, when he came on as a 68th-minute substitute for Gerard Piqué in a 2–0 away defeat to Liverpool. On 12 May 2008, Macheda earned a Manchester Senior Cup winners' medal when he was named as an unused substitute for the 2–0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the final. Macheda signed his first professional contract with Manchester United on his 17th birthday in August 2008. In the 2008–09 season, he continued in the under-18 side, while also making a few appearances for the reserves. Towards the end of the season, Macheda enjoyed an extended run in…

Macheda was named in Italy's preliminary 40-man squad for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, but was omitted from the final 23. He made his debut for the Italy U21s on 12 August 2009 in a friendly against Russia, and first scored for the U21s with both goals in a 2–1 victory over Turkey on 17 November 2010. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over England with a late penalty in February 2011, and in their next game, he scored Italy's third in a 3–1 win over Sweden in March.

Nicknamed Chicco, Macheda is a quick and versatile forward, who is capable of playing in a central role as a main striker, or in more of a supporting role as a second striker or attacking midfielder. Although naturally right-footed, he possesses an accurate and powerful shot with both feet, and is known in particular for his clinical finishing, intelligent movement, and ability to curl shots on goal from outside the area. He has been described as a "modern striker", as his technical skills, ability to read the game, and positional sense in the box, combined with his tall, large and strong physique, allow him to hold up the ball with his back to goal, retain possession under pressure, and create space for himself even in limited spaces and when being heavily marked by more physical opponents. Regarded as one of Italy's most promising prospects in his youth, in 2010 Don Balón included him in their list of the 100 best young players born after 1989; in recent seasons, however, he has often struggled to live up to his potential.

Early in the morning of 12 July 2009, Macheda's home in Sale, Greater Manchester was targeted by burglars, who stole cash and jewellery. A friend of his received a minor head wound during the burglary. While on loan at Queens Park Rangers in 2012, Macheda was involved in two cases of misconduct on Twitter.