Don’t bulldoze Old Trafford. I scored my greatest ever goal there!
As Jim Ratcliffe agonises over whether to expand or build a brand new stadium a plea from FEDERICO MACHEDA, a striker with a special memory...
WHEN Lorenzo Macheda was old enough to go on YouTube, it wasn’t long before he came across the clip of his dad scoring one of the most incredible goals Old Trafford has ever seen.
Teenage substitute Federico Macheda spinning away from the Aston Villa defence on his debut in April 2009 and curling home a 93rd-minute winner to give United a 3-2 win and a decisive push in the title race with Liverpool.
‘He didn’t know, I didn’t tell him about it,’ Macheda says of his seven-year-old son. ‘He was surprised. It was a good moment.’
When the Italian striker returned to Old Trafford for the first time in nearly a decade to watch United play Fulham on the final day of last season, he took Lorenzo with him. The boy was introduced to the United players after the game. Then he and his dad went out on to the pitch by themselves in front of an empty Stretford End to the spot where Macheda entered Old Trafford folklore 15 years ago.
‘I said this is the goal where daddy scored,’ Macheda proudly says. ‘He wanted to do the same and he did it. It was quite special.’
That’s the problem with bulldozing stadiums. You bulldoze the history too. You lose for ever the exact place where something
‘The history of this club is also this stadium. It’s magical’
magical occurred, a place you might want to show your kids one day.
So after another week of debate over United redeveloping Old Trafford or building a brand new stadium, Macheda is happy to offer his opinion. Born and raised in Rome, he ought to know a thing or two about preserving history.
‘I would be against destroying the stadium and building it somewhere else,’ he tells Mail Sport. ‘I believe the structure and the history of the place should stay there, and then make some improvements.
‘Even if you build next to it — and I’m sure they would make it an amazing stadium — it’s a place where all the fans enjoyed great games and memories. The first day I signed for Manchester United when I was a kid, walking inside the stadium gave me a special feeling. I’d never seen something like it. It’s magical.
‘It’s not only the place where I scored the goal, it’s home for everybody who supports United. When I went back, it was the same. Obviously, it needs to be upgraded but the history of this club is also this stadium, Old Trafford.’
Now 32, Macheda has played for 12 clubs in a well-travelled career that has taken him from Sampdoria to Doncaster, most recently joining Ankaragucu from Panathinaikos. Fans in Turkey and Greece aren’t exactly known for their restraint, but he insists that nothing compares to the explosion of noise at Old Trafford that day.
‘Not a chance,’ says Macheda, speaking from his home in Ankara. ‘I’ve seen some great atmospheres, especially in the big games of Athens, the derbies against Olympiacos, and also here in Turkey. We play in some great stadiums with some crazy atmospheres when you play away against Galatasaray and Fenerbahce.
‘I’ve managed to score a good amount of goals, but I’ve never heard noise like I did that day. Maybe I never will. That day on my debut was crazy, it was a crazy noise.’
Lorenzo would have to scroll down a bit further on YouTube, but his father scored another important late goal against Villa the following year in November 2010, this time at Villa Park as Alex Ferguson’s side staged another dramatic late comeback to draw 2-2 on the way to another title. ‘Villa were my lucky team,’ chuckles Macheda.
When United came from behind to beat Villa 3-2 again at Old Trafford on St Stephen’s Day, Rasmus Hojlund was the young hero celebrating his first Premier League goal. They go to Villa Park tomorrow desperately needing a win to narrow the eight-point gap between the two teams.
‘It’s a massive game for United and a tough place to go,’ says Macheda. ‘The most important thing is to finish in the top four and go again next year. This club has to go back to winning titles hopefully.’
Macheda has a game tomorrow at Konyaspor. He is getting back to full fitness and scored on his last start against Karagumruk.
He likes Ankara and is getting married to Lorenzo’s mother Martina this summer. ‘After the wedding we’re planning to have one more child,’ he confides.
Maybe one day they will all get the opportunity to go back to Old Trafford.