The FIFA Interactive World Cup has been known to produce a lot of excitement and drama. This year’s tournament was held in Barcelona, Spain and for the first time ever in the competition, the championship was won by an American. We had the opportunity to sit down with FIWC winner Nenad Stojkovic for his thoughts on winning the tournament.

First off we’d like to congratulate you on winning the FIFA Interactive World Cup. For anyone who says that North Americans can’t play the game, Nenad here is proof that they can. So how does it feel to have won the title?

It feels good, it’s crazy. You come home and everyone is congratulating you and you see yourself all over the web it’s pretty crazy.

So how did you get into the tournament, where did you hear about it?

I’ve been playing FIFA since 08 and I became pretty good at the game playing online. I thought that there might be something I can enter so I searched on Google and I found out about the FIFA Interactive World Cup. I tried in 09 but I lost in the championship in New York where I finished in third place. I was more determined than ever this year and during qualifying I finished in first place in North America and third overall in the World. I had to wait four months before going to Barcelona but it was worth the wait.

You have just mentioned that you were unsuccessful in your first attempt to claim the FIFA Interactive World Cup title, what did you have to change up to be successful this time around?

In FIFA 09 qualifying if you made one bad mistake and lost you were out. For this year’s tournament online, you could have a bad game but still be in a position to qualify. For me this was the best route as I wasn’t taking as many courses in school. It was worth it because it allowed me to qualify.

How did it feel for you to be playing in Barcelona? It must have been a surreal experience.

When you get to Barcelona you see so many competitors. There were some friends and some enemies but the whole thing was happening so fast that it was hard to take everything in. You don’t really take everything in until a week after it all happened where you’re like, “Wow I was there with the big crowd, the lights and everything all around me.” For me it was amazing and I couldn’t believe that I had the opportunity to be in Barcelona.

What kind of pressure were you feeling playing in front of a huge crowd and in front of celebrities like Patrick Kluivert?

When you’re playing in the final with the big crowd against one person I found myself tuning the crowd out. There were a lot of people that were against an American winning but when you’re playing against your opponent it’s just me and him and that’s what allowed me to win. I can’t say enough about Patrick Kluivert but when I initially won I was celebrating a bit while he handed me the trophy. I was a little shy but Patrick pushed me forward and there I was holding up the trophy. It was hard enough to be playing under pressure and with Patrick being a professional he congratulated me for being able to stay calm and play with a lot on the line.

What was your first initial feeling when the final whistle blew and you were the FIFA Interactive World Cup winner?

At first it didn’t really sink in but after a week you realize that you’ve won and my parents couldn’t believe it either. It was shocking at first but I believe the championship was well deserved.

By winning the FIFA Interactive World Cup you received $20,000. That’s a lot of money to have in your hands, any plans on how you’re going to be using that money?

Before I left I told my dad that I would give him the money but I tried to give it to him but he wouldn’t accept it. So I went out and bought a couple thousand dollars worth of clothes and other things. I’m going to put the rest of it in the bank to invest  maybe in something like stocks, but for now I’m just going to hang on to the money because you never know what comes up I life.

Were you forced to change your tactics as you were going up against different opponents?

I chose Chelsea because they had the strongest and biggest team in the game which was important. I played with a 4-2-2-2 formation which allowed me to play the ball on the wings while protecting the middle. I play defensive so I love to counter and if I play against another opponent who likes to play defensive as well then I work to break them down.  Every opponent is different so you’re going to have adjust as the game is going. It’s always a game time decision.

What’s the best piece of advice you can give to someone that wants to become a world champion like yourself?

Practice, you’re not going to get better being players 5-0 you need to be going up against the top players in the game. You’re going to have to get beaten by good players if you want to improve. Also play defensively and look to counter. It works, just look at Inter Milan who’s going to be playing in the Champions League Final.

Once again Nenad thanks for your time, it was a pleasure for us to be talking with you and once again congratulations on claiming the FIFA Interactive World Cup title.

Thanks so much.

You heard from the champion, practice makes perfect. Perfect your skills by playing FIFA 10 and get yourself ready for the World Cup by picking up 2010 FIFA World Cup. Be sure to continue following the Off the Bench blog for more info on everything FIFA.

The FIFA Interactive World Cup has been known to produce a lot of excitement and drama. This year’s tournament was held in Barcelona, Spain and for the first time ever in the competition, the championship was won by an American. We had the opportunity to sit down with FIWC winner Nenad Stojkovic for his thoughts on winning the tournament.

It feels good, it’s crazy. You come home and everyone is congratulating you and you see yourself all over the web it’s pretty crazy.

I’ve been playing FIFA since 08 and I became pretty good at the game playing online. I thought that there might be something I can enter so I searched on Google and I found out about the FIFA Interactive World Cup. I tried in 09 but I lost in the championship in New York where I finished in third place. I was more determined than ever this year and during qualifying I finished in first place in North America and third overall in the World. I had to wait four months before going to Barcelona but it was worth the wait.

In FIFA 09 qualifying if you made one bad mistake and lost you were out. For this year’s tournament online, you could have a bad game but still be in a position to qualify. For me this was the best route as I wasn’t taking as many courses in school. It was worth it because it allowed me to qualify.

When you get to Barcelona you see so many competitors. There were some friends and some enemies but the whole thing was happening so fast that it was hard to take everything in. You don’t really take everything in until a week after it all happened where you’re like, “Wow I was there with the big crowd, the lights and everything all around me.” For me it was amazing and I couldn’t believe that I had the opportunity to be in Barcelona.

When you’re playing in the final with the big crowd against one person I found myself tuning the crowd out. There were a lot of people that were against an American winning but when you’re playing against your opponent it’s just me and him and that’s what allowed me to win. I can’t say enough about Patrick Kluivert but when I initially won I was celebrating a bit while he handed me the trophy. I was a little shy but Patrick pushed me forward and there I was holding up the trophy. It was hard enough to be playing under pressure and with Patrick being a professional he congratulated me for being able to stay calm and play with a lot on the line.

At first it didn’t really sink in but after a week you realize that you’ve won and my parents couldn’t believe it either. It was shocking at first but I believe the championship was well deserved.

Before I left I told my dad that I would give him the money but I tried to give it to him but he wouldn’t accept it. So I went out and bought a couple thousand dollars worth of clothes and other things. I’m going to put the rest of it in the bank to invest  maybe in something like stocks, but for now I’m just going to hang on to the money because you never know what comes up I life.

I chose Chelsea because they had the strongest and biggest team in the game which was important. I played with a 4-2-2-2 formation which allowed me to play the ball on the wings while protecting the middle. I play defensive so I love to counter and if I play against another opponent who likes to play defensive as well then I work to break them down.  Every opponent is different so you’re going to have adjust as the game is going. It’s always a game time decision.

Practice, you’re not going to get better being players 5-0 you need to be going up against the top players in the game. You’re going to have to get beaten by good players if you want to improve. Also play defensively and look to counter. It works, just look at Inter Milan who’s going to be playing in the Champions League Final.

Once again Nenad thanks for your time, it was a pleasure for us to be talking with you and once again congratulations on claiming the FIFA Interactive World Cup title.

Thanks so much.