English teams face tough Champions League test
Friday morning's Champions League draw did the English clubs no favours with four intriguing Round of 16 ties.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will face a familiar foe in Jose Mourinho after being drawn to face his Inter Milan side, while Arsenal will also meet Italian opponents after drawing Roma.
Chelsea will be reunited with Claudio Ranieri at Juventus and Rafael Benitez will return to Spain again as Liverpool drew beleaguered Real Madrid.
Tournament favourites Barcelona will take on Ligue 1 leaders Lyon. The remaining fixtrues will see Villarreal v Panathinaikos, Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich and Atlético Madrid v FC Porto.
Mourinho will return to England for the first time since leaving Stamford Bridge at the start of last season and will renew his battle with the Manchester United manager.
While manager of Porto, Mourinho famously ran down the Old Trafford touchline to celebrate after a late goal sent the Red Devils tumbling out of the competition in 2004. He then spent two years tussling with Sir Alex for the Premier League title and in typical Jose style he wanted to draw United.
Dais wha we talking bout, bring the war to dem red girls devils.
Manchester United's communications director Phil Townsend said the draw was a good one for the Old Trafford club and offered the chance to gain revenge on Mourinho, five years on from their loss against his Porto side at the same stage of the competition.
"It's a very exciting draw. We've only met Inter once before in the Champions League and we got through then, and maybe it's a good omen because it was in 1999 and we ended up winning the tournament,'' he said.
"We'll be trying to put one over on Jose this time and get the result the fans want and the club wants.''
Inter director Ernesto Paolillo revealed he hoped Mourinho's previous encounters against Ferguson's side will give the Italian outfit the edge across the two legs.
"Mourinho told me yesterday that he wanted Manchester United, and I think he's right,'' Paolillo told Sky Sports News. "Against Manchester United we can find the right motivation and the right concentration to play a very good game.
"Mourinho is experienced in English football, and he knows United very well. I think that he can teach something to the players - the right way to fight - and we need that because his experience is very important for us.''
Another former Chelsea manager, Ranieri, will look to show the Blues what they are missing when he crosses swords with Luiz Felipe Scolari. Juve, trailing four points behind Inter in the Serie A table, are in their first season back among Europe's elite after being demoted for match fixing two years ago.
"For him (Ranieri) it means something different than for the rest of us," said Juventus sporting director Alessio Secco, who said he was confident of progress.
"When we were drawn with Real Madrid and Zenit in August we thought it was almost impossible but we won the group.
"We have a feeling of respect for Chelsea but we are not afraid to play against them.
"Since Claudio Ranieri left Chelsea many players have changed but many of them are still playing for Chelsea, so he knows them better than everybody else. I think that for him it will be a special game for sure.''
Chelsea secretary David Barnard was pleased with the draw as the Blues look to go one better than last year's runners-up finish.
Barnard told Sky Sports News: "Any team at this stage of the competition is obviously quality but it could have been a lot worse, maybe Barcelona.
"It obviously brings back Claudio Ranieri to the Bridge and I am sure Claudio will get a good reception from the Chelsea supporters.
"In Claudio's last season we actually reached the semi-finals and the Champions League means a lot to him and Chelsea.''
And Benitez will also be on familiar ground by drawing Real, where he was once a player. Though right now a draw against Real does not look too tricky it could be a completely different prospect in two months time.
Arsenal will be perhaps happiest with their draw against mid-table Roma who have struggled to impress this season.
The ties take place on February 24/25 and March 10/11 with the final on May 27 in Rome.
