Sir Alex Ferguson called Man Utd player the Red Devils’ “best finisher” - Birmingham City briefly saw it | OneFootball

Federico Macheda failed to deliver on his early potential, though Birmingham City saw glimpses of his talent.

Federico Macheda famously scored on his Manchester United debut, grabbing the winner in the Red Devils' 3-2 win over Aston Villa in the last minute but failed to deliver on his potential, despite a bright loan spell with Birmingham City.

Having spent time in the youth system of Lazio, Macheda and his family relocated to England to link up with Man United in 2007, and he immediately went straight into the academy.

The Italian impressed in youth football for the Red Devils, and was subsequently handed a place in Man United's first team squad for their fixture against Aston Villa at Old Trafford, earning a place on the bench.

With United trailing 2-1, Macheda was introduced on the hour mark, and after a certain Cristiano Ronaldo equalised from the penalty spot, Macheda etched his name in Red Devils folklore by scoring an iconic 94th-minute winner, effectively handing the club the Premier League title.

It may be unfair to suggest that, at just 17 years of age and only making his senior debut, Macheda's career had peaked, but in truth, topping that moment was always going to be difficult, and so it proved to be for the Italian.

He'd score again in the very next match away at Sunderland, coming on as a substitute once more, but thereafter Macheda found his game time at United difficult to come by, and would head out on a series of loan spells.

Sampdoria, Queens Park Rangers, Stuttgart, Doncaster Rovers, and finally Birmingham all took a chance on Macheda on loan, and it was only with the latter that he showed glimpses of the player he once promised to become.

Federico Macheda shone in his brief stint at Birmingham City on loan from Man United

After spending a difficult first half of the 2013/14 season on loan with Doncaster in the Championship, Macheda switched from Yorkshire to the Midlands, joining Birmingham for the second half of the campaign.

His start to life at St Andrew's began brilliantly, scoring on his debut as a substitute at home to Derby County, and then scoring a brace in their following game in a 2-0 away win at Charlton.

Macheda became a regular in the side from thereon out, providing serious competition for both Nikola Zigic and Peter Lovenkrands as the club's centre-forward.

In total, Macheda scored ten goals and grabbed one assist in 18 matches for Birmingham, averaging over a goal return every other game, including a brace against former club Doncaster.

The Italian returned to United at the end of the season and was not offered a new deal, seeing his contract expire at the club and leaving on a free, before remaining in the Championship, joining Cardiff City on a permanent basis.

Now 34, his half-season at Birmingham is only the third time that Macheda has managed to hit double digits in a single campaign, as Blues fans caught a brief glimpse of the player that the Italian never became.

Federico Macheda failed to live up to his early potential

Having failed to live up to his early potential, Macheda has since been on a journey around Europe, forging a decent career for himself.

In comparison to the one that people may have expected him to have following his senior debut, it may appear unspectacular, but Macheda has become somewhat of a prolific player in the Greek Super League, finding success particularly with Panathinaikos.

Now in the twilight of his career, Macheda has played for 13 different clubs in six different countries (seven if you include Wales) and has found success in his own right within Greece, where he currently plays for Asteras Aktor.

The Italian has made 400 career appearances to date, having scored just shy of 100 goals across all competitions.

In what has been a career which peaked before it ever really got going, Macheda's time with Birmingham remains the most prolific spell in his career to date, and Blues fans briefly witnessed it.