José Mourinho says that he cannot wait to renew hostilities with Sir Alex Ferguson, claiming that being drawn against Manchester United yesterday in the first knockout round of the Champions League was precisely what he wanted for his Inter Milan team.

Mourinho, the self-styled “Special One”, has not come into opposition with an English club since his acrimonious departure from Chelsea in September last year, but he rubbed his hands with glee upon learning that Inter, six points clear at the top of Serie A, would face United in one of several mouthwatering ties.

Liverpool take on Real Madrid, who have long coveted the services of Rafael Benítez, and Chelsea meet Juventus, coached by Claudio Ranieri, who preceded Mourinho at Stamford Bridge. Ranieri immediately warned Luiz Felipe Scolari from experience that another Champions League failure would be a “disaster” for Roman Abramovich, the club’s billionaire owner. With Arsenal taking on Roma, all four English clubs must be wary about their prospects when the competition resumes in late February.

The odds on United retaining their crown drifted after yesterday’s draw. Mourinho has a formidable record against Ferguson’s team — only one defeat in ten matches since their first encounter in 2004, when his Porto side knocked United out of the Champions League at the same stage — and although he was strangely cautious about blowing his own trumpet, he was quick to state that it was the draw he craved.

“My wish has been granted and I am satisfied,” Mourinho said. “I wanted the best and I have got the European champions, who maybe on Sunday will be the world champions. It will be unforgettable for me, returning to Manchester. It is a 50-50 match and anyone can win. We will have a lot of motivation for this tie.”

Ernesto Paolillo, an Inter director, said the Italian club were confident because “Mourinho is experienced in English football and knows United very well”. However, Mourinho for once preferred to play down his importance. “I don’t have a great record against Sir Alex,” he said. “I prefer to say Chelsea have a great record against United. The players are more important than the coaches and the clubs are more important than the players. But this tie is an easy job for me. It will not be difficult for me to focus players on this game.”

Ferguson believes that a similar motivation will be felt among his own players, not all of whom held Mourinho in such high regard. Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular, had a testy relationship with his Portuguese compatriot, who accused him in 2007 of having “no education” because of a “poor upbringing” — a remark that infuriated the United manager.

“It will be interesting to come up against José again,” Ferguson said in Yokohama, where United face Liga de Quito in the Club World Cup final tomorrow. “He’s a character with a good personality and I’ve always got on well with him. He knocked us out of the competition when he was at Porto, so I hope we have the luck that they had in that tie.”

With six of the eight ties drawn, United had a 50-50 chance of facing Real — a combustible prospect given the enmity between the clubs over Real’s pursuit of Ronaldo. Ramón Calderón, the Real president, felt compelled yesterday to defend his club’s actions in stalking Ronaldo and, although he said that “the matter is totally dead”, United know it is not.

Draw for the last 16

Chelsea v Juventus
Villarreal v Panathinaikos
Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich
Atlético Madrid v Porto
Lyons v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Liverpool
Arsenal v Roma
Inter Milan v Manchester United

First-named teams play home tie first. Ties to be played on February 24-25 and March 10-11