Barcelona glad to avoid all-Spanish clash

Barcelona know they will have to be at their very best to stand a chance of making it through the quarter-finals of the Champions League after being drawn against serie A leaders Juventus in Friday's draw.

But the Barca players were relieved simply to have avoided another Spanish side, having gone out to domestic rivals in two of the last three years.

"It always seems like we have more of a chance against foreign teams," Barca captain Luis Enrique said after the draw was made.

"Maybe that's because teams in Spain are now just so familiar with each other."

In the 1999-2000 season Barcelona looked a good bet to lift the European Cup for the second time but their campaign came to an end with a semi-final defeat to Valencia, who went on to lose the final to Real Madrid.

The Catalans made it through to the last four again last season but once again went down to Spanish opposition, this time to Real Madrid.

"I think the draw was positive for us this time," Luis Enrique said. "We're all satisfied that we've been kept apart from other Spanish teams."

"There's a lot of work for us to do to beat Juventus, though. They're one of the strongest sides in the competition."

That view was backed by Spanish international defender Carles Puyol, who described the quarter-final line-up as the best he'd seen.

"Juventus are the leaders in Italy, with a very strong defence and a lot of quality in attack," Puyol said.

"They're going to be very hard to beat."