Clubs seal special relationship

Unhappy memories
The last time the clubs met, at the Heyselstadion in the Belgian capital Brussels two decades ago, Juventus's 1-0 European Champion Clubs' Cup final victory was eclipsed by the deaths of 39 fans.

English dominance
As a result of those events, English teams were banned from UEFA competitions for five years, and since returning Liverpool and their Premiership peers have struggled to exert the same dominance which brought them eight final appearances in nine seasons from 1977 - when the Reds won the first of their four continental crowns against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach - to 1985.

Victory in Rome
Following the Heysel tragedy, Juventus became European champions again in 1995/96 when they overcame AFC Ajax in the Champions League final in Rome. Hopes of further glories, however, were ended by final defeats in the following two campaigns.

Case for defence
If the Bianconeri's miserly defence has been the key to their progress this term, they have also conceded goals in only one of the four games they have played against Liverpool in all competitions - a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup tie in 1965, won 2-1 on aggregate by the English side.

Italian triumph
Juventus made amends for that defeat in the UEFA Super Cup of 1984, overcoming Liverpool 2-0 at the Comunale stadium. Now the two clubs can look forward to meeting again in an intriguing last-eight encounter.

"It's a long time since we played. We tried one or two times to play friendlies but it just didn't work out. I'd say there's a great relationship between the clubs now and even between the supporters. [The Heysel disaster] was all a long time ago. It's never something you forget, but I'd say everyone will be more focused on the football now and it's a very challenging tie." Rick Parry, Liverpool chief executive

"I don't know why, but I had the feeling we were going to face Liverpool. When I was [AS] Roma coach, we lost the last time we played against Liverpool, and now I have a chance for revenge. Liverpool are a very dangerous side, especially at Anfield." Fabio Capello, Juventus coach

"We had spoken about the possibility of meeting ahead of the draw, and we said we would mark the events of 20 years ago if we did so. This match will be a special occasion for both clubs to renew an extremely friendly relationship. Ahead of the draw there was a big chance that two Italian clubs would meet in the quarter-finals so we feel we are luckier than [FC] Internazionale [Milano] and [AC] Milan [who were drawn together] because we would rather not have an Italian opponent at this stage." Romy Gai, Juventus commercial director