Sometimes, as Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes knows full well, just one solitary goal can be enough to secure yourself a place in the Premier League giants’ folklore.
Federico Macheda, if it was not for that famous last-gasp strike against Aston Villa back in 2009, would probably test the memories of even the most knowledgeable Red Devils fanatic.
After all, the well-travelled Italian hasn’t exactly enjoyed a career worthy of too many headlines. Macheda is plying his trade in Greece with Asteras Tripoli these days at the age of 33.
The former Italy Under-21 international made only 36 appearances for Manchester United before going on to represent the likes of Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest, QPR, Ankaragucu, Panathinaikos and APOEL.
Yet, speaking a week before Ruben Amorim’s Man United face Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final in Bilbao, skipper Bruno Fernandes is keen to remind his teammates that it may take just one accurate swing of the boot to join the pantheon of Old Trafford icons, as Macheda did on that fateful 2009 afternoon.
Photo by Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Michael Regan – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Bruno Fernandes sends Federico Macheda reminder to Manchester United teammates
Who, if anyone, will have their Macheda moment in the Basque country? Who will be the man to secure Ruben Amorim’s first piece of silverware in the Manchester United dugout?
This is a question Bruno Fernandes, for one, cannot wait to find out the answer to.
“As players, we need to think; Anything at this club this good becomes massive in the future,” Fernandes says, a modern-day United legend looking to win trophies in three successive seasons after the 2023 EFL Cup and the 2024 FA Cup.
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“People get recognised for a lot of things. For example, let’s talk about Federico Macheda. He scored two goals in two games straight away, but the first one…”
Spinning away from his marker at the edge of the Aston Villa penalty area, a 17-year-old Macheda curled a sublime finish into the far corner. From zero to hero in the blinking of an eye.
Thus, saving Man United from an unprecedented three straight Premier League defeats under Sir Alex Ferguson and ensuring Liverpool’s long wait for a top-flight title would go on for another decade or so.
Fernandes praying for a famous moment in Europa League final
Fernandes is keen to point out that Macheda’s second Man United appearance had a Hollywood ending too, the teenager deflecting Michael Carrick’s effort into the net to secure a 2-1 win at Sunderland.
Macheda, then, is an example for any player looking to inscribe his name into the history books.
“He didn’t end up having the career that everyone probably expected him to have, for many reasons, but everyone remembers him for that goal,” Fernandes smiles. “At this club, from a split second you can get a memory for life. Not only for yourself, but for the fans [too].
Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by John Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
“Every time you have an opportunity to win a trophy, to do something great, you just have to understand that a minimum thing you do great here is going to become massive.
“When you get this small thing right, it drives you off.”
Macheda joins Giuseppe Rossi and Adnan Januzaj in a sprawling pantheon of Man United starlets who never quite made the grade at Old Trafford.
Sixteen years after lighting the fuse under United’s 2009 title charge, the stage is set for a new hero to emerge on Ruben Amorim’s watch.