© EuroFootball.com
Milan's "Inter" seeks to defend their Champions League title. The Italian team successfully crossed the group stage barrier, defeated Munich's "Bayern" in the round of 16, and will now face Germany's 10th place team in the Bundesliga, Gelsenkirchen's "Schalke", in the quarterfinals.
The first leg will take place in Milan on April 5th. The teams will face each other again on April 13th in Germany.
One of the leaders of "Inter", Ernesto Paolillo, did not hide his joy that they managed to avoid facing Madrid's "Real" or "Barcelona": "I can say that we are calm, and we will be happy when we defeat 'Schalke'."
"We are happy to have avoided very strong opponents, but we cannot relax, because there are always surprises. Everyone who goes this far is capable," Paolillo added.
Meanwhile, "Schalke" defender Christophas Metzelder sought analogies in history: "A big challenge awaits us, but the opponent is appealing. Strangely, when 'Schalke' won the UEFA Cup in 1997, we also had to fight against 'Valencia' in the round of 16, as well as 'Inter'."
"The draws are tough, as we play against the champions," added captain Manuel Neuer.
