Federico Macheda's father has stated that his son made the right choice by leaving Lazio as a 16-year-old to join Manchester United.

Macheda struck a stoppage-time winner on his debut to help United to a 3–2 win over Aston Villa which lifted the defending champions back to the top of the Premier League. But the 17-year-old Italian's achievement was of little consolation to Lazio, who were left angry after United snatched the star prospect from their youth academy in September 2007.

"It's thanks to Lazio that today Federico is doing well in his English experience," said Pasquale Macheda. "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.

"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."

Lazio's president Claudio Lotito this week called for a change in regulations that prevent Italian clubs from tying a player under the age of 18 to a contract, but one person at Lazio who did celebrate the player's success was his former coach with the youth team, Stefano Avincola.

"I am delighted for him," Avincola said. "Of course there's some regret at the Lazio camp for seeing a quality player leave. 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."