Source: SKY_Sports
10 Macheda facts
Federico Macheda made it a debut to remember when he came off the bench to grab a stoppage time winner for Manchester United at home to Aston Villa on Sunday.
With the scores locked at 2-2 the young Italian received a pass from Ryan Giggs just inside the area but, with his back to goal and Villa defender Luke Young for company, the route to goal was seemingly blocked.
But in the blink of an eye the 17-year-old turned the full-back and shot first time, curling the ball majestically around goalkeeper Brad Friedel.
The youngster's strike will live long in the memory for many United fans as it could yet prove to be a decisive turning point in the Premier League title race.
We expect that you may be hearing a bit more of this young man in the future so to give you a heads up here are 10 things that you might not
have known about United's latest starlet.
1. Macheda was born in Rome and signed for United from Lazio as a 16-year-old on September 1st 2007.
2. His nickname among his team-mates is simply 'Kiko'.
3. Away from the pitch he likes to spend his free time playing tennis with best friend Davide Petrucci, also 17 who joined from Roma in July 2008 and currently plays for United's Under-18s.
4. Despite his elevation to the first team many of his reserve colleagues describe him as one of the worst trainers at the club.
5. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson spotted his potential early and named him in this season's UEFA Champions League squad. Macheda was rewarded for his match-winning display at the weekend by being named in the squad to play Porto on Tuesday.
6. His favourite film is Gladiator.
7. The 17-year-old singles out Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez as the two players he looks up to most in the United squad.
8. The striker has already won silverware during his brief time at Old Trafford, winning the Northern Ireland Milk Cup in 2008 and the Manchester Senior Cup in 2007/08.
9. To date he has 10 goals in 16 reserve games this season and scored a hat-trick last week against Newcastle to earn a 3-3 draw for the second string.
10. He is an Italian Under-18 international.
