Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says he’s excited to take on former foe Jose Mourinho and ex-Red Devil Cristiano Ronaldo after they were drawn against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League last 16.
The Red Devils-Real tie is clearly the glamour encounter of the last 16, although European heavyweights AC Milan take on title favourites Barcelona and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal have drawn last season’s beaten finalists and German leaders Bayern Munich.
However, Ferguson said he can’t wait to take on Mourinho and Ronaldo in a “fantastic tie”.
I don’t have a great record against Jose so I will have to put that right,’’ said Ferguson.But the main focus will certainly centre around Cristiano. It will be a fantastic tie. Hopefully we can get them back here with a good chance and get the players absolutely buzzing.
We have not had a really good European game for quite a while having not qualified last year. This is a big opportunity for United to kick on and step forward in European football again.
The first leg matches will be played on February 12-13 and 19-20, with the return legs to be held on March 5-6 and 12-13.
UEFA Champions League draw;
Galatasaray (Tur) vs Schalke (Ger) Celtic (Sco) vs Juventus (Ita) Arsenal (Eng) vs Bayern Munich (Ger) Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukr) vs Borussia Dortmund (Ger) AC Milan (Ita) vs Barcelona (Esp) Real Madrid (Esp) vs Manchester United (Eng) Valencia (Esp) vs Paris Saint-Germain (Fra) FC Porto (Por) vs Malaga (Esp)