Federico Macheda

At 32 years old, Federico Macheda has this physical status:

Club career

Macheda was born in Rome, Lazio. After being spotted at the local Atletico Prenestino club in Rome, he began his football career with Lazio's youth team. However, he was not permanently tied to the club because Italian football law forbidding under the signing of players over the age of 16 and over, and Manchester United of England announced him shortly after his 16th birthday. Following his family's relocation to England, he officially joined the club as a student on September 16th, 2007.

Macheda was bundled into the Manchester United Under-18 squad from start to game on his debut, a 1–0 away win over Barnsley on September 15, 2007. He spent his first season with the Under-18s, scoring a total of 12 goals in 21 appearances, and made his Reserve debut on February 26, 2008, against Liverpool as a 68th-minute replacement for Gerard Piqué in a 0–0 away loss to Liverpool. Macheda was awarded a Manchester Senior Cup champion's medal in 2008 after being identified as an unused substitute for the 2–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the final.

On his 17th birthday in August 2008, Macheda signed his first professional deal with Manchester United. He spent his youth in the under-18 campaign throughout the 2008–09 season, though he made few appearances for the reserve. Macheda's reserve team had an extended run in the season, scoring eight goals in eight games, including a hat-trick in a 3–3 draw with Newcastle United on March 30, 2009, and was rewarded for the first team against Aston Villa on Friday 5 April. Manager Alex Ferguson brought Macheda on to substitute Nani shortly after the hour marks with United 2–1 down in the final third of the game. Macheda won the match after Cristiano Ronaldo equalized for United in the 80th minute with a turn to evade his marker and a curling attempt from just inside the penalty area in the third minute of injury time.

Macheda was on the bench for United's next two games, first against Porto in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-finals and then against Sunderland in the league; his second appearance for the club in the second round. Macheda had the ball in the back of the net for the second time in his United career, deflecting a Michael Carrick shot past Craig Gordon in the Sunderland goal. Macheda was given his first game in a Manchester United shirt against Everton on April 19, 2009, with Alex Ferguson opting to rest his big-name players for the FA Cup semi-final against Everton. However, Macheda's first appearance in his United Kingdom career was ineffective, and he was recalled for Dimitar Berbatov at the start of extra time. He started his Premier League game in a 2–0 victory over Middlesbrough on May 2, 2009; he was involved in the build-up to Park Ji-Sung's goal but was forced to change the scoresheet himself and was suspended ten minutes into the second half. Macheda was named as the Jimmy Murphy Academy Player of the Year in honor of his work in the under-18s, the reserves, and the first team during his first season with the Manchester United first team.

Macheda's 2009–10 season started with appearances in the third and fourth rounds of the League Cup against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Barnsley respectively. On November 3rd, he made his Champions League debut against CSKA Moscow on November 3rd, and was followed by another appearance in Beşiktaş's 1–0 loss on November 25th, in which the goalkeeper got a save in the last minute. He appeared as a substitute for Dimitar Berbatov in the League Cup fifth round on December 1st, before committing a four-year contract that will keep him at the club until June 2014.

Macheda sustained an injury that kept him out before January 21st, when he returned for a reserve match against Sunderland. However, he recovered from another injury shortly after, effectively ending his participation in the League Cup Final over Aston Villa. In a 4–0 victory over Bolton on March 27, he made his first Premier League appearance of the season, beating Ryan Giggs in the 84th minute. Macheda was on the bench for United's top-of-the-table match against Chelsea on April 3rd, with Wayne Rooney suffering ankle ligament damage against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. With United down 1–0, Macheda came on for Paul Scholes in the 72nd minute, resulting in Chelsea's second goal in the 79th minute before Macheda scored a consolation goal for the home team two minutes later, but there was a suspicion of handball as he turned the ball into the net.

In the 2010 MLS All-Star Game, Macheda scored his first goals of United's pre-season tour of North America as he scored twice. The first came after only 21 seconds as he capitalized on a poor back-pass, and the second came in the 13th minute with a header from a Nani corner kick. Macheda scored his first goal of the season on November 13, 2010, netting United's first goal against Aston Villa in a 2–2 away draw.

Sampdoria announced on January 8th that Macheda had been on loan until the end of the season. Antonio Cassano's replacement was seen as a temporary replacement who had to join Milan. In a 2–1 home victory over Roma on Monday, Macheda made his debut for Sampdoria. In their Coppa Italia match against Udinese, Macheda scored his first and only Sampdoria goal on his first appearance for the club. Sampdoria defeated 5–4 in a penalty shootout after the game had ended 2–2 after extra time. The club's poor results resulted in their promotion to Serie B, causing the club's relegation to Serie B. Following his release from relegation, Macheda's agent said he could return to Sampdoria, but the player himself said no return to Italy will be made in the 2011-12 season, but that he will remain at Manchester United.

Macheda also returned to Manchester United at the end of the season, having made 14 appearances in Sampdoria's tumultuous fight against relegation. On his return to England, he expressed his desire to continue his football education in England, saying, "For a youngster, England is the right place to play." In the first game of Manchester United's 2011 tour of the United States, Macheda scored two goals against the New England Revolution. Macheda played in his first game of the 2011–12 season as a result of Manchester United's 3–0 victory over Leeds United in the League Cup, and also scored from the penalty spot in Manchester United's 2–1 loss to Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals.

Macheda was loaned out to Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League for the remainder of the season on January 2nd. He was in his first game on the same day, starting as a substitute for Heir Helson in the 80th minute of Norwich City's 2–1 loss at Loftus Road. After suffering an ankle injury that ended his season, Macheda returned to Manchester United for medical attention on March 28.

Macheda returned to Manchester United for pre-season training and was selected to participate in the club's tour of South Africa. In a 1–0 win over AmaZulu at the start of the tour, he scored the only goal. Since being out of action in any league games for United, he hasn't appeared in any.

Macheda was loaned to VfB Stuttgart until the end of the season on January 24, 2013. Fredi Bobic, the club's sporting director, announced that Manchester United offered Stuttgart the option of buying, but that they did not use any such option.

Macheda joined Doncaster Rovers on a one-month loan on September 16, 2013. He made his debut in Doncaster Rovers' away loss to Watford on the following day and came as a replacement for David Cotterill in the 58th minute. In a 2–2 draw, he scored his first goals for Doncaster when he struck twice against Nottingham Forest on September 21. It was the first time he had scored since November 2010. He scored again in the derby against Sheffield Wednesday, the only goal in the derby; this made it three goals in as many appearances for his new club. Macheda returned to Manchester United after suffering a hamstring injury on October 8, 2013. Macheda returned to Doncaster for a separate loan term, which lasted until the end of December 2013.

Macheda was the third Manchester United youth to join Birmingham City on loan from 2012 to 2014, following Tyler Blackett and Tom Thorpe. Lee Novak was forced to leave the game early in the following day's match, home to Derby County, and had scored in stoppage time after Emyr Huws' shot had hit the post, bringing the final score 3–3. Macheda replaced Olly Lee after 60 minutes with Birmingham 1–0 down. Despite opposition claims that he had used his arm to control the ball, he returned his team a landslide four minutes later and his 94th-minute second tied his team to a 3–3 draw. He ended the season as Birmingham's top league goalscorer with ten goals from just ten starts and eight appearances as a substitute.

Macheda was released from Manchester United and signed Cardiff City on a free transfer on May 27, 2014. Ole Gunnar Solskjr, his former manager at United's reserves, had him signed him. On Saturday, he made his Cardiff debut in the second round of the League Cup against Port Vale on August 26, 2014, and the club won by a 3–2 victory in the third round. After scoring an equalizer earlier in the game, Macheda received his first red card for Cardiff against Brentford on March 14 for a second yellow.

Macheda's debut in 2015-2016 and only a few substitute appearances, he rejoined Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season; the switch was complete on March 15th, a 1–1 draw away from Hull City.

On his return, he was held out of Germany's pre-season tour and was put on the transfer list by new manager Paul Trollope. Macheda's employment was terminated by mutual consent on August 30th, 2016.

He joined Serie B side Novara Calcio on an 18-month deal, and was given the club's number 10 shirt on December 14th. In a 2–1 home win over Spezia on February 25, Macheda scored his first goal for the Novara team since 2011, and his first goal he had played for an Italian team since 2011, when he scored for Sampdoria in the Coppa Italia. In a 3–2 away victory over Frosinone on Saturday, he scored his first brace in six years in his first brace in six years. Macheda left the club when his deal came to an end in the 2017-18 season.

In September 2018, Macheda agreed to a three-year deal with Panathinaikos, Greece's Superleague. In 28 appearances (one in the league and one in the Greek Cup against Panetolikos), he has scored 11 goals in 28 appearances (both in the league and one in the Greek Cup).

He started the 2019–20 season off with a goal against Lamia and then scored another one against OFI a week later in a 3–1 home loss to OFI. He set a brace against Volos on March 1, bringing his personal record for a single season with 13 goals in all leagues for the first time.

Federico scored after a precise pass from Dominik Nagy in a 1-1 away draw game against AEK Athens in the 2019-20 Superleague playoffs after an 80-day-forced COVID-19 pandemic break.

Macheda decided to a labor deal extension on August 27th, 2023's summer. In a 2-0 home victory game against Panetolikos F.C. on November 28, 2021, he scored a brace. Federico Macheda made 100 appearances with the club on December 1921 in a 2-0 Super League home win game against PAS Giannina. He became the 13th foreign player to play with Panathinaikos.

After four years in Greece, he moved to Ankaragücü in summer 2022.

International career

Macheda was named in Italy's preliminary 40-man squad, but he was ultimately not selected in the final 23-man squad for the 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Macheda made his debut for the Italy U21s in a friendly against Russia on August 12, 2009. In a 2–1 victory over Turkey on November 17, 2010, Macheda scored his first goals for the U21s. Macheda scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over England on February 8, 2011, after netting a late penalty. Macheda defeated Sweden 3–1 in a 3–1 victory over Sweden on March 24th in the third game.

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