MACHEDA AAAAAAAA AAAAAAAA!
“I DIDN’T FOLLOW THE FIRST TEAM MUCH. BUT, IN THE DAYS AFTER, I REALISED THAT IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT GOAL”
What was life like as a young player at Manchester United? Were you always confident that you would make it into the first team?
It was difficult, and very complicated. I didn’t speak the language and everything was new for me. I was only 16, and alone, especially at the beginning. There wasn’t any certainty of carving out a major first-team role alongside so many champions. But I went there with a dream to be realised and was willing to try a new experience. In the end, I succeeded.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was your manager in the reserves. What was he like?
The year of my first-team debut, he coached me in the second team. He’s a very good person and a very good coach, especially for the strikers – he made us work a lot in the final phase, helping us in our movements and positions. He was fundamental for my growth and making the first team. I found him again at Cardiff a few years later, though unfortunately we were together for only a short time before he was sacked. But from the point of view of a striker who wanted to learn, I have excellent
