Matteo Darmian will become just the fifth Italian player to represent Manchester United after completing his £13 million move from Torino. The 25-year-old defender will be hoping to enjoy a more successful and illustrious career at Old Trafford than his predecessors.
Carlo Sartori (1968-1972)
Sartori was the first foreign import to play for Manchester United, hailing from Caderzone, Italy. Although the midfielder had Italian origins, he spent most of his childhood growing up in the Collyhurst area of Manchester.
He came up through the youth ranks at United and made his debut in October 1968, replacing Francis Burns in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. His appearance in that game gave Sartori the accolade of being the club’s first foreign player.
Unfortunately for the Italian, he came into the side after the club’s greatest glory and witnessed the steady decline of Sir Matt Busby’s European Cup winners. Sartori eventually departed in 1973, moving back to Italy with Bologna. He made 55 appearances for United, scoring 6 goals.
Massimo Taibi (1999-2000)
Massimo Taibi will be remembered at Manchester United for all the wrong reasons. The goalkeeper had played for various Italian clubs, most notably Piacenza and AC Milan, prior to joining United.
In 1999, Sir Alex Ferguson was in the market for a new goalkeeper to fill the gigantic void left by Peter Schmeichel. He already had Mark Bosnich and Raimond van der Gouw on the books but both had suffered injuries early on in the 1999/00 season.
Ferguson turned to Taibi, signing him for Venezia for a reported £4.5 million fee. He turned in an impressive debut performance, winning the man-of-the-match award as United beat Liverpool 3-2. Despite making a number of brilliant saves, there was a sign of things to come as Taibi flapped at a free-kick allowing Sami Hyypia to score.
That match was as good as it would get in Taibi’s very brief United career. It soon became apparent that he wasn’t suited to the club or the English game. His remaining appearances for the club encompassed a 5-0 thrashing suffered at the hands of Chelsea and a mistake, after which he became known as ‘The Blind Venetian’, in the game at home to Southampton. Once he had let a tame Matt Le Tisser shot creep under his body and into the net, Taibi’s United career was effectively over.
In January 2000, he returned to Italy with Reggina on a loan move which eventually became permanent. Unfortunately for Massimo Taibi, he will always be remembered for that error against Southampton.
Guiseppe Rossi (2004-2007)
Guiseppe Rossi experienced a fairly unmemorable three year spell at United but has since carved out a career at the very top level.
He was spotted playing for Parma in 2004 and at the age of 17 he signed for United, making his debut from the bench in a League Cup tie against Crystal Palace.
Rossi had to wait until October 2005 to make his Premier League debut, but when he did it was worth the wait as he netted the final goal in United’s 3-1 away to Sunderland. Two more goals followed in the FA Cup and despite playing a role in United reaching the 2006 League Cup final, he missed out on a place in the final squad.
The Italian spent the first half of the 2006/07 season on loan at Newcastle United but he managed to score just once in 13 appearances. He enjoyed a far more prolific spell in the second half of the campaign, scoring 9 goals in 20 appearances with Parma.
After making just 14 appearances in a United shirt, and scoring 4 goals, Rossi was sold to Spanish side Villarreal for a reported fee of £6.6 million. He found his feet in Spain and enjoyed five years of goalscoring, particularly during the 2010/11 season when he netted 32 times. His form earned him both international recognition and a move to Italian giants Fiorentina in 2013. However, Rossi has been the unfortunate victim of several major injuries, twice injuring his anterior cruciate ligaments, and most recently damaging the medial meniscus of his right knee which has restricted him to making just 25 appearances for the Viola.
Federico Macheda (2009-2014)
Federico Macheda was once the next big thing to emerge out of the famous Manchester United academy. However, the striker has become the symbol of the overhyped young player.
It couldn’t have started any better for Macheda who, having joined from Lazio 2007, made arguably the most dramatic and unforgettable debut in recent years. His free-scoring form for the reserves had earned him a place on the bench for the visit of Aston Villa in April 2009.
He joined the action with United 2-1 behind and their title hopes hanging in the balance. After Cristiano Ronaldo had levelled with ten minutes remaining, Macheda controlled a pass on the edge of the box, evaded his marker, and curled a beautiful shot into the far corner of the net. With it being a dramatic winner to complete a match-winning comeback, the young Italian had truly announced himself in typical United fashion.
Macheda scored in his next league appearance, against Sunderland, and earned a starting place in the FA Cup semi-final. Even though he failed to score again that season, his impact was notable enough to see him win the accolade of the Jimmy Murphy Academy Player of the Year.
Unfortunately, his tremendous start to his United career was to be as good as it got for him. From then on, a combination of injuries and inconsistent form, saw his impact and reputation slowly diminish.
Loan spells at Sampdoria, Queens Park Rangers, VfB Stuttgart, Doncaster Rovers and Birmingham City followed before Macheda was released at the end of his contract in May 2014. He promptly signed for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Cardiff City.
Macheda managed 35 appearances during his six-year spell at Old Trafford and he scored 5 goals. Although he failed to live up to his wonderful start, his memorable debut won’t ever be forgotten.
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