Birmingham City caught a glimpse of the player Sir Alex Ferguson dubbed Man Utd’s “best finisher” | OneFootball

Federico Macheda spent the second half of the 2013/14 season on loan at Birmingham City

Under the leadership of former Newcastle United, Sunderland, and Fulham midfielder Lee Clark, Birmingham City finished the 2012/13 season slap bang in the middle of the Championship table in 12th place, and looked to build upon those foundations heading into the next campaign.

Clark made numerous additions in the summer window, including Darren Randolph and Lee Novak on free transfers, as well as the loan deals for both Dan Burn from Fulham and Jesse Lingard from Manchester United.

Adding to a side already containing the likes of Nikola Zigic, Chris Burke, Demarai Gray, and Paul Robinson, Blues were gearing up for what looked to be a promising year. However, that would be far from the case.

Winning just three of their opening 13 league games, it quickly became apparent that the departures of Jack Butland, Curtis Davies, and Nathan Redmond in the summer were having a bigger effect than they had hoped, and as January rolled around, additions were imperative.

After Jesse Lingard's successful loan spell in the first half of the season yielded six goals and three assists from 13 league games, Birmingham returned to the Red Devils for a few other loan deals, with each of Tom Thorpe, Tyler Blackett, and Federico Macheda joining that January.

Federico Macheda showed glimpses of his ability at Birmingham City after joining on loan from Manchester United

Italian forward Macheda joined the academy of Man United in 2007, and shone in the Red Devils' youth ranks, earning a place on the bench for the first team against Aston Villa.

With United 2-1 down, Macheda came on just after the hour mark, and following Cristiano Ronaldo's equaliser, the then 17-year-old scored a dramatic late winner to launch his name into the stratosphere.

Loan spells with Sampdoria, Queens Park Rangers, Stuttgart, and Doncaster Rovers followed, with Macheda having failed to kick on from his early hype, and he would subsequently head to St Andrews for the second half of the 2013/14 season.

He began life with Birmingham in excellent fashion, scoring on his debut as a substitute at home in a 3-3 draw to Derby County, and then scoring both goals in their following game in a 2-0 away win at Charlton Athletic.

Macheda became an ever-present in the starting 11 thereafter, providing strong competition for both Danish forward Peter Lovenkrands and Serbian striker Nikola Zigic as the club's main man up top.

The Italian would go on somewhat of a goal drought for the next five games, before bouncing back with a brace in another 3-3 draw, this time at home to Burnley.

He would continue his trend of scoring braces, by bagging doubles against Bournemouth at home and former club Doncaster away, before finishing his stint in England's second city with one more goal at home to Leeds United.

Macheda scored ten goals and grabbed one assist in 18 league games during his time with Birmingham, as the Blues barely scraped survival on goal difference, incidentally ahead of Doncaster.

Federico Macheda never lived up to the potential he once promised

In truth, Macheda had the rare incident of peaking on his debut, with no moment in his career since coming close to reaching the highs of that moment against Aston Villa.

In an interview with SunSport, Macheda said: "Sir Alex would tell everybody I was the best finisher in the club. I was surprised. It was the best team in the history of Manchester United with the names and quality. He must have some special feeling for me and for sure hoped things would be different for me."

It was always going to be difficult for the Italian to reach the potential the media had bestowed upon him following his debut, so it's hardly surprising with how things have panned out for him since.

After his deal with United came to an end, Macheda joined Cardiff City on a permanent deal in the summer of 2014, spending two years contracted in the Welsh capital before returning to his native Italy with Novara.

Spells in Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus followed, as whilst the forward never reached the levels he once promised, he has still forged a career that many would dream of having.

Now in the latter stages of his career, Macheda is still playing top-flight football in Greece, and though he will always be remembered for that moment at Old Trafford, his brief loan spell with Birmingham