Sir Alex relishes Mourinho reunion

Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson is looking forward to a reunion with José Mourinho after the holders were drawn against Italian titleholders FC Internazionale Milano in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.

'Interesting'
The pair first locked horns when the Portuguese manager's FC Porto side knocked United out of the competition at this stage in 2004, before going on to win the tournament. They resumed their rivalry the following season when Mourinho took charge of Chelsea FC and led the London side to the Premier League title in 2005 and 2006, before United reclaimed top spot in Mourinho's final full season in charge at Stamford Bridge. "It'll be interesting to come up against José again," said Sir Alex, whose side also lost to Mourinho's Chelsea in the 2007 FA Cup final. "He's a character with a good personality and I've always got on well with him. He knocked us out of the competition when he was at Porto, so I hope we have the luck they had in that tie this time round."

'Focus'
Sir Alex added: "[Inter] have had a tremendous domestic record in recent years and that speaks volumes for the consistency of their team. Playing against the bigger teams brings a better focus and concentration to our game as we showed against Barcelona [in the semi-finals] last season. We knew the most important thing we had to do in that tie was to concentrate and our concentration in both games was terrific." The draw will bring back happy memories for United who defeated Inter 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals en route to winning the title in 1999. Their last trip to San Siro in 2007, however, ended in disappointment when they were knocked out of the competition in the semi-finals by Inter's rivals AC Milan.

'Exciting night'
Like Sir Alex, Mourinho was also looking forward to the tie as he "always wants to face the best teams". The Portuguese said of United: "They are the European champions and in a couple of days can become world champions too. Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently won the Ballon d'Or, plays for them and they also have a great coach in Alex. I'm pretty sure the San Siro will be sold out for the first leg and it will be an exciting night for us all. I have lived memorable moments in my career against that team, and like the idea of going back to Manchester. I think it's right to see matches between two strong teams at this stage of the competition."