Borussia Dortmund will meet Juventus for the first time since the German side triumphed in 1997's Champions League final.
BVB coach Jürgen Klopp was not underestimating the size of the task at hand, "It is a beautiful tie, but it will be a huge challenge. They're the best team in Italy and very experienced. I find it very hard to even think about the Champions League right now. It feels much further away than February."
Pavel Nedved, Juve legend, is wary of the threat BVB pose, "We have to be very careful because Dortmund have young, talented players," he told UEFA's official website. "It could have been worse because there was still Bayern [Munich] and [Real] Madrid when Borussia's name came out. It will be a very even tie. There are a few teams who are almost impossible to compete with, so we are happy to have a side against whom we have a chance. I'm a big fan of Klopp and I'm curious to see our level in Europe. The games against Dortmund will give us a clear indication of that."
“I’m happy, in the sense that they were one of the teams we were hoping to meet,” Gianluigi Buffon said in an interview with Sky. “Not because they’re a team which is inferior to the others, but because it represents a test to see how far we can go and where we can improve. It’s a beautiful and exciting test."
Buffon is looking forward to the tie and thinks that, regardless of league form, Dortmund will perform at their best in the ties, “We’ll play in a fantastic stadium, and to get to Berlin [for the final] we’ll have to go to Dortmund as has happened in the past. In the Champions League teams are transformed, and perform better than in the league, probably because of the added stimulus this competition gives you as a player."
Although out of form, Buffon remains wary of the threat posed by Ciro Immobile, “[Ex-Juventus player] Ciro [Immobile] gave us trouble when he was at Toro, and he can do the same for Borussia. It [the draw] could have been better, but it could also have been a lot worse.”