Source: SKY_Sports
Macheda senior backs move
Federico Macheda's father, Pasquale, believes his son made the right choice to leave Lazio and join Manchester United.
The 17-year-old's decision came good on Sunday when he came off the bench to mark his United debut with a stunning goal when he curled a superb shot past Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel to secure a late 3-2 win.
Lazio were understandably unhappy when the Red Devils came in for one of their hottest prospects in September 2007 and fought, unsuccessfully, to keep the youngster at the club.
The Serie A outfit have called for changes to the rules in the aftermath of the young Italian's debut strike as they look for the Italian FA to protect them from a similar situation happening again.
"It's thanks to Lazio's youth team that today Federico is doing well in his English experience," Macheda senior said.
"He was a part of Lazio's youth team and he was fortunate there to learn a lot and become a serious lad from a sporting point of view.
Hard to resist
"Federico was born in Rome and grew up at Lazio. But it's not easy to resist an offer from a prestigious club like Manchester.
"Now we are enjoying the moment and we are proud of what Federico has done. He is a serious kid with his feet firmly on the ground."
One man at Lazio who was happy to see Macheda make an immediate impact at Old Trafford was his former youth team coach Stefano Avincola.
"I am delighted for him. Of course there's some regret at the Lazio camp for seeing a quality player leave," he said.
"But I want to reiterate that Lazio did everything they could to keep Federico at the club, seeing in him a player with potential and good prospects.
"Unfortunately, it was not possible and the lad and his family made an understandable choice of leaving Lazio and thanking the club for everything they did for the young Federico."
