Pavel Nedved has said Juventus' Champions League quarterfinal clash with Barcelona comes "at just the right time" for Massimiliano Allegri's side.
The tie sees the 2015 finalists drawn together, a game which Juve lost 3-1, but Nedved hopes the five-time consecutive Serie A champions are now ready to beat Barca.
"We must not look to the past, but at the present, knowing that we are strong and that we can face them with an open mind. Let the best team win," the Juventus director told the Serie A club's website. "Juve are growing by the day. This tie comes at just the right time and I agree with what ex-Juve boss Giovanni Trapattoni said in that Juve must "focus on themselves."
"That is what we are going to have to do. We need to respect Barca, but without any fear because we are capable of challenging them.
Asked if Barca are not as strong as they were, he said: "Times change for everybody and they had won a lot in recent years so it's understandable that they are not the same now, but they are always in top form for games like these and if we want to go through, we are going to have to give that little bit more.
"We are ready, but we need to be at our very best to hurt them." For Dani Alves, it will be a meeting against his former club, while Nedved said several other members of the Juve dressing room were hoping to face the Blaugrana.
"I know that as a former Barca player, Dani would have liked to avoid them, but you can't please everybody," Nedved said. "[Paulo] Dybala and [Leonardo] Bonnuci, for example, wanted to face them. We're happy to be here today as the only Italian side left in the competition, which makes me proud, but I would prefer if it there were other Italian sides here because Italian football needs them."
Juve host Barca on April 11 with the return leg at the Camp Nou on April 19.
"I remember a precedent when we played the return at the Camp Nou and it went well for us," Nedved said, referring to April 2003 when Juve won 2-1 in Spain. "It doesn't matter where you play games like these -- at home or away, you have to be at your best."
Barcelona vice-president Jordi Mestre told beIN Sports said he hoped Luis Enrique's side would learn from the mistakes they made against Paris Saint-Germain in the round-of-16.
"The draw is the draw, there are no easy teams in the quarterfinals but we always get tough ties," he said. "There's a good dynamic at the moment and morale is sky high but that doesn't mean we're going to go through.
"I respect Juve a lot. The advantage of playing the second leg at home is conditioned a lot by what happens in the first game -- we hope it's not the same as Paris. We have to score in Turin."