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FIFA Interactive World Cup 2005

WORLD CUP: Football at fever pitch Down Under

/noticias.info/ Australia's recent victory over Uruguay and their return to the world footballing stage in next summer's FIFA World Cup™ has led to a surge of interest in the beautiful game down under. This passion was reflected in the arrival of hundreds of gamers and football fans from all over Australia at Sydney's Overseas Passenger Terminal to compete in the FIFA Interactive World Cup.

Against the stunning backdrop of the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge visitors poured through the doors eager to start their bid to win the tournament and compete in London's Grand Final.

DJ Alvins got the day off to a pumping start with some great hip-hop tracks and provided an awesome soundtrack to proceedings throughout the day.

The event played host to a unique Xbox 360 dome which gave a lucky few visitors the chance to see and trial the fantastic next generation console over two months before the rest of the Australian public.

A team challenge kicked off proceedings on the tournament pods, the first match was a repeat of Australia and Uruguay. Yet again the Australians proved victorious much to the delight of a crowd still revelling in the euphoria of the recent win.

Australia's gamers set out to impress in the opening stages of the tournament. The usual choices of Brazil and England took to the field alongside club favourites AC Milan, Juventus, Chelsea and Arsenal. The gamers were not afraid to take their chances either and the pace was fast and furious throughout.

For the first time in the tournament Sydney saw a 'Best Dressed Fan' competition. Young gamers turned out in force in their team colours and the judges were impressed by the diversity of strips on show. Eventually the competition was won by five year old Damian Kalatzis from Sydney who returned home as the delighted winner of an Xbox 360 - could he be a tournament winner of the future?

The Speed Shot yet again proved hugely popular with hundreds of entrants of all ages lining up, all eager to prove themselves as the fastest foot in Sydney. Our congratulations go to Daniel Carreno, Alex Eroukhimovitch, Anthony Romeo and Tomislav Romic. Tomislav notched up the quickest kick of the day with a massive 108kph!

Back on the stage the crowd were treated to a clash of the titans between two winners from the 2004 tournament - Shane Magee from Australia hooked up via Xbox Live with Matija Biljeskovic in Illinois. Despite some strong local support Shane's Chelsea team were eventually beaten by Matija's AC Milan in a thrilling match that saw great football and provided the audience with some great playing tips for the latter stages.

As the rain cleared over Sydney Harbour the atmosphere inside remained tempestuous. Passions ran high as the tournament reached the closing stages and those unaccustomed to pressure matches were swept away by stronger players. The two semi-finals were both close affairs with all four players turning out as Italian teams and exhibiting plenty of European flair. After two great matches the stage was set for a final between Tahir Latif and Giovanni Fichera.

It took only ten minutes for Tahir's AC Milan side to get on the scoresheet with a scrappy goal from Shevchenko and only minutes later Inzaghi made it two after sloppy defensive play from Giovanni's Juventus defence. Juventus tried hard to get back into the game with some classy moments and strong pressure and were unlucky to turnaround without a goal.

They continued to attack in the second half but clinical finishing from an AC Milan corner by Shevchenko provided the nail in the coffin and gave Tahir not only a well-deserved victory but a place in the Grand Final. The FIFA Interactive World Cup returns to Europe next week, visiting Cologne to pick up its second European representative.
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