Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino delighted with 'unbelievable' Juventus draw in Champions League

It may not have been a tougher tie than some Tottenham fans wanted but for Mauricio Pochettino a round of 16 fixture against Juventus is the dream draw.

The visit to Turin will be Pochettino’s first as either a player or manager and will hold special significance for him as it takes him to his ancestral home.

“It's fantastic because my family came from Italy, from Turin - unbelievable!” said Pochettino. “My name Pochettino is from Italy. It will be fantastic to go there for the first time.

“It’s a city and a club I’ve always wanted to play and it’s now fantastic to be going to the city of Turin to play against Juventus.”

Champions of Italy for the last six seasons and twice beaten Champions League finalists in the past three years, Juventus were doubtless one of the toughest teams group winners Tottenham could have drawn.

However Spurs have already overcome Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid and Pochettino believes his side have proven themselves ready to compete with Europe’s elite in the knockout stages.

“It's so important to be competitive and we've shown we can do that, we've shown we can deal with the pressure of the Champions League,” Pochettino added.

“This will be a different game to Real Madrid and it's so exciting to play Juventus.”