Ajax coach Ronald Koeman has said he would like to play Barcelona, after his Ajax side reached the last eight of the Champions League last night.

With Andy Van der Meyde scoring in the first minute, only for Cassano to equalize, a draw was good enough to see the Dutch club through.

Koeman, who spent many years at the Nou Camp with Barcelona as a player making over 190 appearances, would relish the chance to take on his former club.

“In the quarter-finals I would like to play Barcelona, but that is a personal view,” explained Koeman.

“But it is most important just to proceed and gain more experience.”

The former Dutch international was also full of praise for his inexperienced side, and was delighted with their performance against Roma.

“We controlled the match with some terrific football in the second half,” said Koeman.

“I am proud of this young fighting team.”

Roma coach Fabio Capello had a contrasting view to Koeman and believed his side should have won the game. With the pressure mounting on Capello, he could only praise his players for their performance last night and believed Roma had the better chances to win the game.

“We deserved to win for all the chance we created,” said Capello.

“We played to win and played extremely well. Both the chairman and myself were down in the changing rooms at the final whistle to thank the players.’