GettyImagesReal legend Emilio Butragueno is relishing the clash with Man Utd

Emilio Butragueno isn't a man much noted for his warm and winning smile. However, "The Vulture" couldn't hide his wry grin when Manchester United was paired with Real Madrid in Thursday's Champions League draw.

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It is a match-up that will have gone down at the Bernabeu like a lead balloon. Jose Mourinho practically threw in the towel on his side's Liga defense last week and said that improving form in the domestic competition would help his players in the chase for cup glory and the club's obsessive pursuit of a tenth European Cup.

A significant improvement on recent form will be required to see off Manchester United, which has hardly set the Premier League alight this season but still enjoys a six-point lead at the top of the table. Real has struggled in the league but found its feet in the continent's premier club competition, qualifying second from Group D behind the excellent Borussia Dortmund.

Mourinho opined at the time that finishing second wasn't the end of world. If the Mayans could have foreseen the draw, he might have altered his opinion. "In my experience it [finishing second] does not mean so much. The teams that finished first will be waiting for an opponent they think may be easier, but if they get Real Madrid that is not good news for them."

Butragueno voiced a similar opinion after the ceremony in Nyon: "I would have liked to have played against United later in the competition but they won't be pleased either," he said. "It will be a fantastic tie for the fans and the players. It's an honour to play against such a prestigious team. We hope to go into the match in good condition and with all the players fit again."

That will be key for Real, which has been beset by injuries to important players this season. Man for man, Real's starting 11, on paper at least, looks stronger than United's. And the Whites hold the historical advantage over the Red Devils; in four European two-legged ties Real has been eliminated just once by United, in its triumphant 1967-8 campaign.

Of the teams Real could have been paired with, though, United is undoubtedly the toughest test at this stage of the competition. Tight at the back (at least statistically) - United has conceded just 10 at Old Trafford in the league - and lethal up top with Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and super-sub Chicharito all in decent form, Ferguson's team will be boosted by the time of the first leg in Madrid by the return to fitness of Asian Player of the Year Shinji Kagawa and the return of its talismanic Serbian captain Nemanja Vidic.

But Real rises to the big occasion and has the player for the big stage in Cristiano Ronaldo. The former United winger will relish the opportunity to walk the Old Trafford turf again and much will depend in the second leg on the Portuguese's performance.

"It's a great opportunity for our fans to see Cristiano again and also for me to meet up with Jose [Mourinho] again - I'll need to order some good wine," joked Ferguson.

Former United player Lou Macari described the draw as "a nightmare" on the BBC.

For the teams involved maybe, but a dream for neutrals and soccer fans across the world, who haven't seen two of the biggest clubs in the world lock horns since 2003, when Ronaldo (the other one) was given a standing ovation at OId Trafford after scoring a hat-trick to send Real through 6-5 on aggregate.

Prediction? Fewer goals, but the same outcome.

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