Name	Federico Macheda
Height	6 ft 2 in
Naionality	Italian
Date of Birth	22-August-1991
Place of Birth	Rome, Italy
Famous for	Football Player

Federico Macheda is an Italian footballer who plays as a striker for VfB Stuttgart on loan from Manchester United. Born in Rome, Macheda began his career with local club Lazio but joined Manchester United when he turned 16 in 2007. He turned professional in 2008, before scoring on his first-team debut in April 2009. Macheda spent the next couple of years on the fringe of the United first-team, before twice going out on loan – first to Sampdoria in his native Italy in 2011, and then to Queen's Park Rangers in 2012, the latter of which was curtailed by injury.

Macheda is also an Italian youth international, having made appearances for the national Under-16, Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 teams. He made his Under-21 debut in August 2009 in a friendly against Russia, and scored his first goals for the team just over a year later in a match against Turkey. 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 for the under-18s, and even 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 seasons, 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 the reserve team, scoring eight goals in eight games, including a hat-trick in a 3–3 draw with Newcastle United on 30 March 2009, and he was rewarded by being selected for the first team for the match against Aston Villa on 5 April 2009. With United 2–1 down heading into the final third of the game, manager Alex Ferguson substituted Macheda in for Nani just after the hour mark. After Cristiano Ronaldo equalised for United in the 80th minute, Macheda won the match with a turn to evade his marker followed by a curling effort from just inside the penalty area in the third minute of injury time.