On the 5th of April 2009, Manchester United faced Aston Villa in a key League game for the title. With United 2-1 down Sir Alex Ferguson turned to an unknown 17 year old from the bench at the hour mark in what would be the most decisive substitution of the season.
The Youngster name was Federico Macheda a 17-year-old Italian who was touted to become a great player after the game. He followed this game up with some impressive performances towards the end of the season which saw many label the forward as the next best thing.
However 10 years down the line His career has been that of a journeyman instead of the Star he threatened to become. Macheda spent 6 loan spells at United from Italian side Sampdoria to, Birmingham and even as far as League One outfit Doncaster.
The 27-year-old admitted that his failure to listen to Alex Ferguson advice to go on his initial loan to a premier league side cost him his United Career. The 18-year-old then had chosen to move to Sampdoria after the euphoria of his debut season when the likes of Everton had come calling.
Despite this Macheda never really kicked off his career in any of the loans spells apart from his time at Championship side Birmingham where he scored 10 times. Even a move to Cardiff City to rejoin Academy coach Ole Gunnar Solksjaer failed to bring the best out of the Italian international.
Released by Cardiff in December 2016 Macheda found himself without a club and had to move back to his homeland to join Italian outfit, Novara. He appeared settled at the Italian club making 51 appearances scoring 10 times.
This caught the eye of Greek Giants Panathinaikos who signed the player last summer. Macheda would be looking to use this move as a launch pad for his career. The forward at 27 years is into the peak period of his career and has scored 6 goals in 14 appearances so far.