Federico Macheda Robbed At His House By Masked Bandits

Various media sources are reporting that Federico Macheda, the Manchester United starlet, was at home at his house in Washway Road in Sale, when armed bandits broke in and robbed him.

The incident took place at 3:40am on Sunday 12 July 2009. Two  armed men wearing balaclavas broke in and stole money and jewellery (including a £20,000 watch) before running out of the house according to police, injuring a friend of the Italian striker in the process (a minor cut to the head). Macheda himself was thankfully uninjured.

There is (unconfirmed) speculation that the attack may be related to an incident that Macheda had been involved in earlier in the night. Kiko had been out at the exclusive Circle Bar in the Manchester city centre. Apparently, as he left, he was involved in a heated exchange with several other men. He then took a taxi back to his home, where the home invasion took place shortly after.

Police have said they are unable to confirm there is a link between the two incidents, but it amounts to a very bad evening for the gifted striker.

It would be a big shock for anyone, but Kiko is only 17 years and living in a foreign country, so it will be a really rough time for him. I can only hope it doesn't affect his confidence with living abroad and make him want to return to Italy. I'm sure there would be plenty of Italian clubs who'd want to snap him up if he made it know he wanted a move back to his homeland.

Macheda and the rest of the Manchester United squad are flying to the far east this week for some pre-season friendlies. Hopefully that will give Macheda a chance to put the incident behind him and get back to playing football.

Other footballers who have been targeted by armed bandits in recent years include Macheda's Manchester United teammate Darren Fletcher, England striker Emile Heskey, Darius Vassell and Jermaine Pennant, while Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's wife (Alex Curran)has also been targeted.

Sources:

• United teenager Macheda robbed at his house
• Thugs Raid Manchester United Starlet Federico Macheda's House
• Manchester United striker Frederico Macheda attacked and robbed in his home by masked gang
• Macheda Is The Latest Victim

Federico Macheda An Inter Milan Target

I read with shock this evening that according to the Telegraph, Federico Macheda is wanted by Inter Milan's Jose Mourinho. Apparently, the former Chelsea manager is keen to take Macheda back to his native Italy.

The news seems to have broken via People.co.uk, who also say that the Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson, believes Macheda is one of the most gifted youngsters of his generation. Both sites say that Ferguson will fight to keep Macheda. With the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez, Fergie will be reluctant to lose the promising youngster.

Of course, Fergie now has some money in his pocket and I'd be surprised if he didn't buy another quality striker during the off season, pushing Macheda back down the order again. However, I can't see Fergie being willing to let him go.

The catch may be that both papers say that friends of Kiko have indicated that he may be interested in a move back to Italy. He's only 17 years old and living in a foreign country can't be easy. A chance of a move back to one of the top clubs in Italy must be appealing - although despite Inter's great form this season and the undeniable fact that Mourinho is a great coach, I can't see Inter as a bigger club than Man Utd right now. I know which one I'd rather play for! (Fergie use the email address in the contact section to let me know if you want to sign me).

On a personal level, I'd be sad to see Kiko go, especially after his emergence this year. I just get the sense that he will become a huge superstar and I'd love to keep him at Manchester United. I guess only time will tell whether this is a groundless rumour or whether it is a real possibility. Stay Kiko, stay!

Federico Macheda Mentioned On BBC 5 Live Podcast

I was recently listening to the BBC 5 Live Football Daily Podcast (11th June edition), talking about Cristiano Ronaldo's imminent move to Real Madrid. As the discussion turned to whether Manchester United would miss Ronaldo's match winning abilities, Federico Macheda's name popped up.

Note: I don't like linking directly to the Podcast download, but it seems that the BBC don't have a permanent page to go along with their podcasts. The only have a single page which lists the last episode.

The position was put forward that over recent seasons Ronaldo had won many games off his own boot, which Manchester United would not have won otherwise. The question was posed whether the fans would miss Ronaldo's match winning abilities when they are in similar situations next season.

The response, by Liam Bradford (the Assistant Editor of the Red News Fanzine), was as follows:

I suppose it's a possibility, but we were in a position that we didn't want to be in at Christmas time this season and we were pulled out of the mire not by Cristiano Ronaldo, but by a lad called Federico Macheda, against Aston Villa, so there are other players there.

Now, that's not in any way suggesting that Macheda himself will ever replace Ronaldo, it's just saying that there are some other very talented players at Manchester United. However, it was interesting that Federico Macheda was the example used.

I think Kiko is a very exciting player and one who will go on to become a great player - although I'll stop short of suggesting that he can reach Ronaldo's level. Ronaldo has to be one of the best players to have ever played the game. A pity that his attitude let him down.

Maybe Ronaldo leaving will mean more time for youngsters such as Macheda, although there are still a lot of talented strikers in front of him and Alex Ferguson has at least £50 million burning a hole in his pocket, so we'll have to wait and see what transpires.

Anyway, if Ronaldo doesn't want to be here, then we're better off without him. We'll just rely on Fergie's wisdom, the rest of the squad and the bright young stars that he's already brought to the club, including Federico Macheda.

Update On The Federico Macheda Blog

Well it's been a while since I've updated the Federico Macheda blog.

I launched the blog after Kiko's sensational goal on debut against Aston Villa. I know he followed up on that with another match winner at Sunderland, but at around that time we had a new arrival in the family and my priorities switched away from blogging. I'm hoping to get back to blogging a little more regularly.

Before I disappeared, I had created some draft posts about some of the news articles on Macheda. I was thinking of going back and finishing these off now, but those articles were all from April.

I think it's best to just leave those behind and write about any new Federico Macheda items that come up.

Federico Macheda Interview After Debut Game (No 2)

My last post had a You Tube clip of a post game interview with Federico Macheda and Gary Neville, after Macheda had scored the match winner on debut. You Tube also has another post game interview:

This time, it's Federico Macheda by himself (no helping hand from his captain this time). The answers were fairly similar to those given in the previous interview, but this one also had some extra information. Here are the highlights:

When asked how it felt when he scored the match winner, Macheda said:

I don't even know how it felt. It is the best day of my life, you know. I was dreaming a day like this, so I feel very enjoy.

Asked about the goal itself, he said:

I had a very good turn, with a good touch, then a good bounce and shot.

On running to the crowd, Macheda said:

I ran to my family, you know, I think they deserve it more than me.

When asked if he was surprised to be on the bench for the game (Manchester United had quite a few injuries), he said:

Yeah, very surprised, because I had to go to Italy yesterday, to play with my national team, then the boss say, you have to stay with us because you might go on the bench and I stayed. Then I had a chance, then I scored a good goal.

If he'd been disappointed about missing national team duty, I bet that disappeared after scoring the winner against Aston Villa.

On whether his life will change now everyone knows about him, Federico said:

My life still the same as before for me. I only to keep going like that, work hard and enjoy.

We'll have to see about that. That's what most young players say, but not all of them can live that. Many get led astray by the fame and money at such a young age.

If Federico Macheda can keep his feet on the ground, he'll be a superstar - let's hope he does.

Federico Macheda Interview After Debut Game

There's a clip on YouTube containing the post match interview with Federico Macheda (and also Gary Neville). The interview was given after Macheda's debut game, where he scored the winner against Aston Villa in the final minute.

Here are some highlights from the interview:

When asked what it felt like to score the winning goal on debut at Old Trafford, Macheda said:

I think this is the day of my dream, you know. It was my dream to have my debut and score a goal like that and I enjoyed it.

When asked what Alex Ferguson said to him before he came on, Federico said:

Just play simple as you know, play, just play.

When asked who he ran to after he scored, he said:

My dad, my family, you know. There was my family there, so I went to them because they deserve it as well.

Nothing startling in any of that, but interesting to Federico Macheda fans nonetheless.

Obviously Macheda's English isn't perfect, but it's pretty decent. I expect he'll be doing a lot more interviews in future and given his age, I'm sure that it will quickly improve.

Also in the same interview, Gary Neville, the Manchester United Captain said:

When it fell to Kiko, obviously you've probably not seen him before today, but he's a great finisher and you would want it to fall to him in the box.

Nice words from Gary Neville (and his English is fairly decent too). Obviously, the players at Man Utd know Macheda and have seen what he's capable of in training.

The Goal That Launched Federico Macheda's Into The Spotlight

Here is the goal that catapulted 17 year old Federico Macheda into the worldwide spotlight.

Manchester United are playing Aston Villa on 5th April 2009 and the Federico Macheda comes off the bench in the 61st minute.

In the last minute of the game, the ball is played into him by Ryan Giggs, just inside the box. His back to goal, Macheda does a little back heel and spins around. The ball comes off the defender, falls at his feet and he curls the ball into the corner, past the goalkeeper Brad Friedel's outstretched hand.

The goal was a match winner and may even prove to be a title winner, as it allowed Manchester United to beat Aston Villa and move back in front of Liverpool. After United's recent stumbles against Liverpool and Fulham, they couldn't afford a draw against Aston Villa as all the momentum is with resurgent Liverpool.

But leaving all that aside, watch the goal. It's a stunner! A star is born. His name: Federico Macheda.