Holders Real Madrid CF will renew acquaintances with Manchester United FC after two of the world's great clubs were drawn together in today's UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

Previous meetings
The duo last met in the quarter-finals of the 1999/00 edition when a 3-2 victory at Old Trafford saw Madrid advance by the same score on aggregate to the last four. Victories in their two previous meetings, in the semi-finals of the 1956/57 and 1967/68 European Champion Clubs' Cup, were shared, with the successful club going on to win the competition on each occasion.

Unbeaten Barça
The Primera División's other two representatives also face difficult tasks after FC Barcelona were paired with Juventus FC and Valencia CF with Internazionale FC. The only unbeaten club remaining in the competition, Barça defeated the Italian champions in the European Cup quarter-final in 1986, though they lost the final to FC Steaua Bucuresti.

Final defeats
Valencia, of course, will face an Inter side coached by Héctor Cúper, the man who led them to successive Champions League finals in 2000 and 20001. The two sides last squared off against Inter on this day last year in the UEFA Cup, when the Italian side completed a 2-1 aggregate quarter-final success with a 1-0 win, before losing in the last four to Feyenoord. The current Spanish champions are the only club left in the Champions League not to have won a European crown.

Five successes
In contrast, AC Milan have won the European Cup on five occasions and AFC Ajax four. The Dutch side made it a quartet of successes at this level in 1995, when Patrick Kluivert scored the only goal against the Rossoneri in Vienna. Milan will be seeking revenge when they meet on 8 April and 23 April - the same dates Madrid and United meet. The two other quarter-final ties will be played on 9 and 22 April.

Semi-final draw
Should Milan account for Ajax they could meet city rivals Inter in the last four on 7 and 13 May, after the semi-final draw was also made. The other game will pit Madrid/United against Juve/Barça on 6 and 14 May. The final will take place at Old Trafford, Manchester on 28 May.

Aigner thanks
The draw was conducted by Friedrich Stickler, chairman of UEFA's Club Competitions Committee, and Michele Centenaro, the senior product manager. It was preceded by an opening speech from Gerhard Aigner, in which the UEFA Chief Executive said: "I would like to pay tribute to the 24 clubs who are not present today and express our thanks to all those who have made the competition so exciting. We have again seen some great nights of European football."

2002/03 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals First-leg matches: 8/9 April 2003 Second-leg matches: 22/23 April 2003 Match Fixture 1 Real Madrid CF (ESP) v Manchester United FC (ENG) 2 Internazionale FC (ITA) v Valencia CF (ESP) 3 AFC Ajax (HOL) v AC Milan (ITA) 4 Juventus FC (ITA) v FC Barcelona (ESP)

2002/03 UEFA Champions League semi-finals First-leg matches: 6/7 May 2003 Second-leg matches: 13/14 May 2003 Fixture Winner match 1 v Winner match 4 Winner match 3 v Winner match 2