The three times that Manchester United and Real Madrid have met in the Champions League, the victor has gone on to lift the trophy.
The two giants of European football said they were determined to keep that trend going, after being thrown together in perhaps the toughest quarterfinal draw of the competition Friday.
"We'll be wanting to continue this way, but only if we win," said former player and Real Madrid sporting director Emilio Butragueno. "Each time the winner has gone on to take the title. We have the upper hand so far in this way with Manchester and hope to keep it that way.
"Last year, also, we played against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid won. We went through the semifinals and won the title. It's good sign for the winner."
In other quarterfinal matchups, Inter Milan faces Valencia, Ajax plays AC Milan and Juventus meets Barcelona.
The quarterfinals are probably the strongest in Champions League history, and the semifinals could be just a compelling, with the possibility of all-Spanish and all-Italian showdowns.
The quarterfinal field features a final eight who share 25 European champions titles. Only Valencia, runners-up in 2000 and 2001, has never won Europe's top prize.
Nine-time and defending champion, Real enters the contest as the favorite, with a star-studded lineup that includes hot names such as Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, and Roberto Carlos. United will have its work cut out if it hopes to fulfill its dream of reaching the final at its own Old Trafford ground.
Two-time titlist Man United, the only English team in the final eight, has its own trump cards in the form of David Beckham, Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy, and the Bernebeu Stadium will no doubt sell out its 75,000 capacity when the two sides meet in the first leg on Tuesday, April 8, with Old Trafford staging the second leg April 23.
"It is without a question a fantastic, attractive draw against the most successful European Cup team of all time," said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. "Their history is steeped in the competition and they have some fantastic players.
"Since the last time we played them they've taken on the biggest names in football, the greatest players in the world. That just adds to the whole thing, doesn't it?"
Real ousted Man United in the 1957 semifinals and went on to win its second European Cup. In 1968, United eliminated Real in the semifinals and went on to win its first European Cup. In 2000, Real beat United at the quarterfinal level and went on to win the title.
"When we met them three years ago, we played with our hearts and not our heads and it ended up being a disappointing night," Ferguson recalled. "Hopefully we will have taken something out of that disappointment and be more aware of what is going on this time.
"We have gained a lot in Europe in the last three years since that Real Madrid game," he said. "We have improved and the tactical side of it has got better. The players have gathered experience. We're quite a mature team going into this game.
"The priority is to win the match and the rest will take care of itself."
In the semifinals, the Madrid-Manchester United winner faces either Juventus or Barcelona. In the other semifinal, it will be Inter Milan or Valencia against the survivor of Ajax vs. AC Milan.
The way the draw worked out, all three Spanish teams -- or all three Italian teams -- could reach the final four.
The first- and second-leg quarterfinals are April 8-9 and April 22-23, with the semifinals May 6-7 and May 13-14.
Should Milan account for Ajax they could meet city rivals Inter in the semis on 7 and 13 May, after the semifinal draw was also made. The other game will pit Madrid/Man United against Juventus/Barcelona on 6 and 14 May.
The final is May 28 at Old Trafford.
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