Sir Alex Ferguson is looking forward with relish to the Champions League tie he asked for after his Manchester United side were paired with mighty Real Madrid in Nyon today.
On Tuesday night, as he reflected on the possibilities of the quarter-final draw, Ferguson said he would be quite happy with a two-legged encounter with the holders and nine-times winners.
And that is exactly what he got, both in the rehearsal and draw proper at UEFA headquarters on the banks of Lake Geneva.
If that was not enough, United also learned that if they emerge victorious, they will then face either Juventus or Barcelona in a mouth-watering semi-final, ensuring that should they make the May 28th final at Old Trafford, they will have come home the hard way.
The omens are promising. On the three occasions the two giants of European football have met in the competition, the victor has gone on to lift the trophy.
Real must be regarded favourites though, with a side containing Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Raul, Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo and Ferguson gave the impression he would like to be there as a fan even if he did not have the demanding task of trying to beat such a star-studded side.
"It is without a question a fantastic, attractive draw against the most successful European Cup team of all time," he said.
"Their history is steeped in the competition and they have some fantastic players."
Ferguson has freely admitted he changed his own philosophy towards Europe following a 3-2 home reverse to Real in the same stage of the competition three years ago.
Even though his team had collected the trophy in Barcelona the previous season, Real picked United off to an alarming degree, cruising into a three goal lead before the home side salvaged their pride with a late rally.
"When we met them three years ago, we played with our hearts and not our heads and it ended up being a disappointing night," said the United boss.
"Hopefully we will have taken something out of that disappointment and be more aware of what is going on this time.
"With the first leg being away from home again we know we have to score. If we could get a couple of goals, that would be a marvellous boost for us."
The Bernebeu Stadium is sure to be packed to its 75,000 capacity when the two sides meet in the first leg on Tuesday, April 8th, with Old Trafford staging the re-match on April 23rd.
"These are the matches you want to be involved in," said long-serving Real player Emilio Butragueno, now an ambassador for the club.
"Once you reach this level, everyone is a great player but this is a chance to show exactly how good you are."
Ferguson has reason to be optimistic if his team do get through.
United have beaten Juventus twice already in this season's competition, including the memorable 3-0 win in the Stadio delle Alpi last month, and also knocked the Italians out in the semi-finals back in 1999.
There is the potential for a Milanese derby in the last four after AC Milan were paired with outsiders Ajax and Inter drew Arsenal's conquerors Valencia.
PA