Fenerbahce to play Chelsea in Champions League QF

The second leg will be played on April 8 or 9. Arsenal and Liverpool will face each other in the quarter-finals of the Champions League while Manchester United face AS Roma in a repeat of their clash at this stage last year. Barcelona were drawn to play German survivors Schalke 04.

Fenerbahce's Administrative Manager Volkan Balli acknowledged on Friday the matches against Chelsea will be hard. "We are going to do our best to qualify for the next round. We have the power to do so" he added.

Chelsea's CEO Peter Kenyon told Fenerbahce TV they respect the Turkish side on Friday. "(Fenerbahce) have great fans. There is a very special atmosphere especially in home games. Fenerbahce are doing great things under Zico's management" he was quoted as saying by Anatolian Agency.

Fenerbahce came second in the Group G after Italy's Inter Milan and knocked out the former UEFA Cup Champions Sevilla in the second round. The recipe for Fenerbahce's success has a strong Brazilian flavor under the leadership of coach Arthur Zico, the legendary Brazilian international.

World Cup winner Roberto Carlos, arrived in 2007 from Real Madrid, while they also have Edu Dracena in defense, Mehmet Aurelio, Alex de Souza and Gokcek Vederson in midfield and Deivid de Souza up front. The playmaker and captain of the team Alex has been a key factor in the club's progress since he joined from Cruzeiro in 2004.

Uruguayan defender Diego Lugano and Chilean midfielder Claudio Maldonado add to the South American feel. Fenerbahce's squad also includes Serbian forward Mateja Kezman and Turkey internationals Volkan Demirel, who was hailed as the hero of the second leg of 2nd round match against Sevilla, forward Semih Senturk, right-winger Gokhan Gonul, midfielder Selcuk Sahin and left-winger Ugur Boral.

The winners of the Fenerbahce versus Chelsea fixture will then face Arsenal or Liverpool in the semi-finals, with Manchester United or Roma taking on either Barcelona or Schalke 04.