Catching up with Ramos

A month after lifting the FIFA Interactive World Cup in Berlin, Spain's Alfonso Ramos Cuevas chats to eu.playstation.com.

A month has passed since you won the Interactive World Cup. What have you done with the $20,000 prize money?

A large portion of it is still sitting in the bank, but I did buy myself a new TV. As for the rest of it, I plan to take my friends and family for a nice meal and then go on holiday this summer.

Are you expecting to retain the title next year?

All I know is that it will be a lot more difficult next year; I'm assuming the standard of play will be higher because the competition is growing in popularity. People are training harder to be the best.

What were your training methods leading up to the final?

I usually practice for around one hour a day, from Monday to Friday. In the week leading up to the Interactive World Cup Finals I played for two hours a day.

If next year's competition is played on a new version of FIFA, do you worry that you may not be able to adapt to it?

It doesn't concern me because I'm sure I'll be able to adapt to it. I have been playing FIFA games since 1997 and I have always been fairly good at them, so getting used to a new one isn't really a worry.

Many players in the Interactive World Cup finals chose to play as FC Barcelona, what makes them so desirable?

Barcelona have an incredible attack, with four players capable of making a difference - Ronaldinho, Messi, Eto'o and Henry.

After the competition, UK competitor Chris Bullard said that you deserved to win. How do you get along with the other competitors? Do you ever play each other online?

This year, the atmosphere at the competition was very good and everyone seemed to get along. And yes, I have been playing online with all of the other competitors.

Does winning the Interactive World Cup make you more popular at parties?

Only slightly. Sometimes people stop me to say congratulations.

Have you been enjoying EURO 2008?

Yes, I am thoroughly enjoying it. I'm particularly happy with the performance of Spain, and I was also impressed with Holland.

Could you give us your dream starting XI of all the players in the tournament?

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas

Defence: Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Pepe

Midfield: Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo

Attack: Cristiano Ronaldo, David Villa, Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Finally, do you have any advice for those hoping to make it to next year's final?

The only and best advice I can give is to train. As me winning the Interactive World Cup proves, a little bit of training can lead to extraordinary things with a game like FIFA.