MADRID, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Atletico Madrid central defender Luis Perez said on Monday that the time had finally come for Atletico Madrid to return to the group stage of the Champions League.

    Atletico, who finished fourth in Spain last season, have not played in the Champions League since the 1996-7 season. Now they face a difficult qualifying tie against German side Schalke 04 to return to the most important competition in Europe.

    The Spanish side play their first game in Germany on Wednesday, with the return in their Vicente Calderon stadium in a fortnight and for Perea, it will be the highlight of his time with Atletico.

    "We have been waiting for this moment for four years and we are all excited. There are new signings at the club and we have a balanced squad," said the Colombian on the official Atletico website on Monday.

    Schalke are one of the toughest sides Atletico could have got in the draw, but Perea is confident that his side can qualify if they do things well.

    "We all know what we are going to be up against: a very difficult team. What we have seen and what we have heard tells us they are really hard to beat on their home ground and that they like to attack."

    "We have to keep our shape and to use our heads and we have to take our chances. We are going to face it as if it was a game lasting 180 minutes, but in the return leg we are at home and will have our fans behind us," said Perea.

    Atletico coach Javier Aguirre has named a 20-man squad for the game in Germany. Apart from the injured Thiago Motta and striker Kun Aguero, who is with Argentina in the Beijing Olympics, Aguirre has no selection worries and has named a virtually full squad with only Portuguese midfielder Maniche left in Madrid.