Totti Relishing Real Challenge

Roma icon Francesco Totti insists that he is delighted to have drawn Real Madrid in the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League. 

The Gialorossi’s second place finish in the group mean that they had a very low chance of escaping one of the tournament favourites, and sure enough they were pitted against Europe’s most illustrious team. 

Despite the daunting nature of the challenge ahead, Totti showed himself in bullish mood, stating: "Personally I am happy. I have some great memories of Real."

“They are a great team but we know that we can do well; it is the knockout phase, so it is clear that this is a difficult challenge."

“It is going to be a very intriguing and fascinating challenge,” added the Roma captain, for whom the matchup takes added significance due to the fact that, by his own admission, he was within inches of signing for Real in the summer of 2004.

“All in all It was a very difficult draw for the Italian teams,” he concluded, drawing attention to the fact that Milan and Inter will also be up against it, having drawn Arsenal and Liverpool respectively.