FIFA U-17 World Cup star wins Grand Final seat Fans and finalists at the FIWC12 Oceania live event final, held in Auckland on 21 April, witnessed a bit of virtual football history when Reece Lambert crossed over from being a FIFA U-17 World Cup player to claiming a place at a very different FIFA tournament – the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2012 Grand Final. Lambert will take his place amongst the world’s elite virtual footballers in Dubai next month for what promises to be an exceptional Grand Final. Reece is no stranger to playing football for a world title. The young defender represented New Zealand at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Mexico 2011, starting every match and helping his team make it to the Round of 16. The youngster wasn’t the only football star at the Grand Final. New Zealand Internationals and Auckland City teammates David Mulligan and Ivan Vicelich attended the live event as special guests and took the opportunity to wish the participants good luck. I play FIFA 12 before every real game, it just helps me to get into that mode. Former New Zealand U-17 international Reece Lambert. Preliminaries Five pre-qualifiers took place across Oceania from February to April to find the region’s best EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12 players. Winners from tournaments in New Caledonia, Papau New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tahiti were joined by finalists from New Zealand for a final EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12 showdown in Auckland on 21 April. The winner would be crowned Oceania champion and represent his country at the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2012 Grand Final in Dubai from 21-23 May 2012. Five goal final Reece Lambert and Steven Fox made it to the Oceania finale and both were set on winning it all. The final match was a pretty even contest, Lambert opting for Manchester City while his opponent chose Real Madrid. At the 84th minute the scores were locked at 2-2 and extra-time seemed inevitable. Then suddenly, Lambert, took a final shot with Mario Balotelli and scored the match winning goal! "I never thought I'd win today...I'm just so happy”, the overjoyed winner said. Standing between Reece and the virtual world title are twenty three of the best FIFA 12 players on the planet. "I've played online in the past and lost 4-3 to the world's number six but in Dubai it will be a whole different level. It's going to be an amazing experience to play against the best in the world.” The Oceania tournament was a great experience for all the finalists. “Not many people back home get the chance to travel to New Zealand and it feels good to come out here and represent my country.” Said Julian Kasu from New Guinea, gracious in defeat. For Oceania champion Reece Lambert, who will soon be moving to the USA to study at University, EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12 is as much fun as it is tactical. "I play FIFA 12 before every real game, it just helps me to get into that mode," he said.

Advantage City as Kompany sinks United Manchester City seized control of the Premier League title race here Monday after Vincent Kompany's first-half header powered them to a 1-0 win over bitter rivals Manchester United. Kompany headed home from a corner on the stroke of half-time to settle a highly-charged title duel at Eastlands which saw City go top of the table by virtue of their superior goal difference. The victory means that wins over Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers in their remaining games will almost certainly see City claim their first league crown in 44 years, while United would finish the season without a trophy. The win also capped a remarkable comeback in the league race by City, who appeared to have blown their title chances in early April after falling eight points behind United. Kompany's winner settled an at times ill-tempered duel which in terms of quality failed to live up to its pre-match hype. The pressure-filled nature of the occasion was reflected by an ugly touchline bust-up involving United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and his City counterpart Roberto Mancini on 76 minutes. A visibly enraged Ferguson had to be restrained from confronting Mancini after the Italian had marched into the technical area to complain after Nigel De Jong was booked for a challenge on Danny Welbeck. City captain Kompany celebrated a famous win after a goal that saw the blue half of Manchester seal a home-and-away double over United. "Absolutely buzzing. We've been waiting for this moment," Kompany told Sky Sports television. "It's far from over and we know that, but to give our fans two wins over United this season... we have to finish it off and we have to do it over the next two games. "For us to get this result, we wanted it so bad. It all comes down to the dream we had when we were children, and we all want it so much." Absolutely buzzing. We've been waiting for this moment. Vincent Kompany, Manchester City captain A scrappy first half saw City dominate possession and territory, but struggle to create clear chances against a United side who had flooded midfield with five men, leaving Wayne Rooney as the lone striker. The home side were also given a huge scare after only two minutes, when Michael Carrick's shot from inside the area was blocked to safety by Kompany. That early scare aside it was largely all City, although United's defence were rarely troubled as the home side struggled to find their passing rhythm. Samir Nasri brought the Eastlands crowd to their feet with a jinking run on 16 minutes which took him beyond the United defence before the French international played in Carlos Tevez, whose cut-back was cleared by Phil Jones. The fractious mood of the evening was reflected at Ferguson's angry reaction after Kompany was booked for a clumsy challenge that poleaxed Rooney. On 25 minutes, Sergio Aguero nearly gave his watching father-in-law Diego Maradona something to cheer about only for his volley from Joleon Lescott's flick-on to sail over the crossbar. City take half-time lead The diminutive Argentinian attacker was off-target ten minutes later, miscuing his shot wide after good work down the right once more from Nasri as City ramped up the pressure. The moments before half-time marked City's best spell of the match, with David De Gea needing to be alert to intercept a menacing cross from Gael Clichy before Tevez produced one surging run from inside his own half that had United scrambling back to cover. Yet just when it looked as if United had survived the late onslaught, City went ahead. David Silva curled in a corner from the right and Kompany leapt above Chris Smalling to power home an unstoppable header past De Gea. The second half saw City again control possession, and they went close to scoring with late chances from Gael Clichy, Nasri and Aguero. United, meanwhile, struggled to create any chances of note, their attempts to get back in the game floundering against a superb defensive effort from City, with Kompany and Lescott unyielding throughout.

Bolton hopeful of further Muamba boost Tottenham Hotspur side resume their challenge for a place in next season's UEFA Champions League at Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday, with the home side set to be boosted with a possible visit from Fabrice Muamba. Tottenham enter the match ahead of fourth place Newcastle on goal difference, with Chelsea a further point behind in fifth. Victory will move Tottenham to within two points of third-placed Arsenal and with the fourth place side set to miss out on a Champions League spot if Chelsea beat Bayern Munich in this season's final, a top three spot remains the number one objective. "It is all to play for, we have got a difficult couple of away games," said Redknapp. "I can't see Chelsea losing many games at the moment either, they are looking really strong whatever team their manager picks. "They have got Newcastle in the week and that is a big game. Newcastle have got tough fixtures - they have got to go to Everton on the last game of the season, you wouldn't want that one and they've got Manchester City at home so we have just got to keep going and see what happens, you never know do you?" Kyle Walker emerged as the unlikely hero of the victory over Blackburn with a stunning free kick to seal the 2-0 victory. And the right back admitted: "I don't practise free-kicks, but I just felt it was right. Rafa (Rafael van der Vaart) placed the ball down and I said 'Can I have it?' and he said 'No chance'. But then he said I could have it and that was that." Muamba boost Tottenham's defeat of Blackburn boosted Bolton's hopes of survival. Owen Coyle's side remain in the bottom three on goal difference but this match marks the game in hand they have on their relegation rivals. And Coyle's squad may be given the further lift of a dressing room visit from Wanderers' Fabrice Muamba who is recovering after suffering a serious cardiac arrest when these two teams met in the FA Cup at White Hart Lane in March. "When it comes to it we will take a look at it but we will have to decide what is best for everybody," said Coyle. "The primary concern is what is best for Fabrice because that is all important but it is something we will look at - if he and his partner decide he is well enough and fit enough." Coyle added: "My take on it has been if Fabrice is able to come along it would be fantastic, for a number of reasons. I think it will give everyone a chance to see how well he has been doing and how far he has come from what happened that night. "The fact it is also Tottenham who were the opponents will give Fabrice the chance to thank all the fans and players involved. I've got to say it's not guaranteed. If he is fit and well to come then it is certainly an opportunity."

Deco: Brazil could produce better players Now 34 years of age and imbued with the self-assurance that a staggering 21 winners’ medals spanning four different countries brings, Brazil-born former Portugal midfielder Deco is clearly comfortable with being interviewed. On the agenda for the two-time UEFA Champions League winner’s conversation with FIFA.com were subjects including his fine 2012 form for Fluminense, comparisons between Brazilian and European football, former team-mates Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and a player he feels can already match that illustrious pair in terms of technical ability: Santos starlet Neymar. FIFA.com: After spending 13 years in Europe, you’re now going into your third season at Fluminense, something you’d only previously done at FC Porto and Barcelona. Do you now feel totally at home at the club? Deco: Listen, at first I found coming back to Brazil very tricky. That was mainly because I had a string of injuries, which made it tough for me to settle, but there were also issues in terms of the infrastructure. Of course things are different here, particularly because I’d been used to the highest standards possible at FC Porto – the club with the best infrastructure in Portugal – and at two massive clubs, in the cases of Barcelona and Chelsea. But I’m totally settled and happy now. That run of injuries you mention even made you consider bringing your career to a close, didn’t it? Yes, that’s right. Physically I've felt fine, ever since I came back, but those successive injuries really hit me hard. That’s because at that stage of your career, after so many years of training and travelling, you get your motivation from playing and competing. And without that, I started to wonder if it was really worth carrying on. When you’re starting out in your career you know that you’ve got your whole life ahead of you but, at that time, I found it hard to see the point in keeping going when I wasn’t able to get on the field. Though assist statistics are not always recorded, would you agree that over your career you may have set up more goals than you’ve scored? There’s no ‘may have’ about it, I think I definitely have! (laughs) Of course I enjoy scoring goals but I’ve never been obsessed by it. What I really enjoy is the playmaker’s role – knowing that the team’s tempo depends on me. I thrive on that responsibility. Have you always felt that way, even as a young player? Always. Even on a personal level, I’ve always been just as pleased with building a move that ends in a goal as when I score myself. Of course, over time, I’ve also changed my style. Not only because I lost some of my physical explosiveness and acceleration but also because I’ve learned so much about how to play as a team. Barcelona are a good example: they’re a side that are always packed with great players but none of them dribble for the sake of it, only when they need to. Now that you’re back in Brazil, do you think the prevailing attitude is very different to Barça’s approach? However much talent we’ve had here, Brazilian football’s always been about touch and passing but, unfortunately, I think that’s coming to an end slightly. The prevailing attitude here now, generally speaking, seems to be the idea that individual talent alone is the solution to every problem and that having one or two superstars in your team is enough to see you through. Why do you think this change has come about? I don’t think we’re doing the right things at youth level: I get the impression that people are more concerned with winning titles than they are with developing complete players. As there’s so much talent here, we can be fooled into thinking that players appear out of nowhere. And of course the likes of Neymar, Ganso and Lucas prove that talented youngsters are still emerging, but we could produce even more and even better players. Another factor that has an impact is the number of players that leave Brazil very early. A lot of youngsters have been leaving for places like the Ukraine or Japan for years and, with all due respect, you’re not going to be playing against top-level opponents every week in those leagues. Ideally, a player would stay and build a name for himself in Brazil or, if he were to leave, he’d go to a stronger league. Barcelona under Pep Guardiola became the archetypal exponents of the passing football you referred to. How much of that team can you trace back to the Barça side you played in under Frank Rijkaard? Barcelona are a club where the teams change, according to the players they have, but the culture remains the same. Guardiola was able to perfectly hone that passing style, as he’s someone who’s immersed in that culture. The biggest difference between this team and ours is that this side has players with those characteristics in every position, whereas we only had four or five. It’s incredible, even when Barça’s most skilful players look likely to lose possession they still prefer to try and pass the ball, rather than taking someone on. And to do that you don’t just need quality, you need the right mentality too. You played alongside Lionel Messi at club level and Cristiano Ronaldo on the international scene. How does it feel to have seen from afar what those two have been achieving in recent years? They’re both incredible players, the two best in the world by a distance. Their styles are different but they’ve got that same ability to catch opponents by surprise. What Cristiano has is incredible power and an extremely competitive nature, while Messi is sheer quality, with those movements he makes which seem to be always the same but that nobody even comes close to stopping. What surprises me is that they’ve become players who create a lot for others, as well as scoring so many themselves. Of course when they were younger I could already see that both of them were a cut above, but I’ve been really struck by how they’ve managed to maintain their standards for so long without ever resting on their laurels. They’re always breaking new records, some of which seemed impossible. And nowadays, you’re witnessing first-hand Neymar’s rise in the Brazilian game. In your opinion, how does he currently compare with world-class players like Messi and Ronaldo? Neymar, in my view, is now at that same level. Something he has in common with those two is the ability to score so many goals without being an out-and-out centre-forward. I think that if he was at Real Madrid or Barcelona he’d be even more effective than he is now, because he’d have better players around him and a better support structure. What you need to take into account are the proportions: on the one hand the technical standard in Brazil clearly isn’t as high as in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, but on the other there are different problems to tackle. It’s not easier or harder: it’s just different. In my view, speaking in terms of technique alone, Neymar is on a par with Messi or Cristiano. As someone who has two Champions League winners’ medals, how does taking part in the Copa Libertadores compare? They’re two completely different challenges. But, speaking honestly, it’s harder for a big club like Fluminense to win the Libertadores than it is for a big European club to win the Champions League. It’s a simple matter of probability: there’s not much to choose between Flu and the likes of Corinthians, Santos, Internacional, Boca Juniors or Universidad de Chile. There are at least ten teams that are clear contenders for the title, whereas in Europe there are only five or six. Of course, particularly in the latter stages, the technical standard in the Champions League is higher but, for a big club, the Libertadores is harder to win. Having enjoyed so much success on European soil, do you feel that you’re treated with a certain respect now you’re back in South America? Yes, to be truthful, I do feel like I get respect. That’s because in recent years here in South America people have been following European football more closely than they do in Europe. (laughs) I know that people admire the career I carved out for myself abroad, but I also know that admiration only lasts until it’s time to take the field. Once the ref blows his whistle, everybody forgets everything else. (laughs)

Real out to clinch La Liga crown in Bilbao Real Madrid visit Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday knowing a win would give them their first La Liga title in four years, breaking the domination of Barcelona forged by the departing Pep Guardiola. With three games remaining Madrid's seven point lead over the Catalans mean one more win is all they require, and the trophy would go some way to make up for the disappointment of losing last week's UEFA Champions League semi-final to Bayern Munich. For Madrid coach Jose Mourinho it would be the fourth country in which he has achieved such a feat, he is currently level on three with Louis van Gaal who includes two titles in Spain with Barcelona in his personal haul. It would also be an incredible seventh championship in 10 seasons for the Portuguese coach who started with two titles in his native country with Porto before going on to win two at both Chelsea and Inter Milan. To add to the growing list of achievements Madrid need to win their three remaining games to reach 100 points and break the record set by Guardiola's Barcelona in 2009/10 when they got 99 points to beat Madrid by three, then led by Manuel Pellegrini. Mourinho continued his boycott of the Spanish media after Sunday's 3-0 victory over Sevilla but his assistant Aitor Karanka talked of the potential of winning the league at his former club. "It would be nice to become champions in San Mames (Bilbao's stadium), to win the Spanish league is important because it has taken a huge effort to achieve it and it was a big objective of ours, but it does not make up for missing out in the Champions League," he said. Barcelona tackle high-flying Malaga For their part, Barcelona kick-off against fourth-placed Malaga two hours before and a defeat for Guardiola's side would hand the title to Madrid before a ball is kicked. The same scenario, however, was the case last Sunday before Barcelona showed no signs of nerves and recorded a 7-0 away victory at Rayo Vallecano. Lionel Messi grabbed two goals to go level with Cristiano Ronaldo on 43 league goals meaning the world's best two players will take their own particular contest to finish as La Liga's top-scorer to the very end. Messi also has another prize in sight as he currently has 65 in all competitions, just two short of Gerd Muller's 67 goal record set in the 1972/73 season for Bayern Munich. Other issues to be resolved include the two remaining Champions League and UEFA Europa League places. Valencia and Malaga are in the driving seat for the bigger prize, on 55 points they are both three ahead of Levante. Any slip-up for Malaga at Barcelona or Valencia at home to Osasuna, themselves only a point from a Europa League place, could be capitalised on by Levante who go to relegation threatened Zaragoza on Wednesday. The side from Aragon are facing the drop along with Sporting Gijon, both teams are on 34 points, four from Villarreal and five from Granada with bottom club Racing Santander already relegated. Villarreal are the visitors to Sporting Gijon on Tuesday for a decisive clash no team can afford to lose. Sporting's Croatian centre-forward Mate Bilic, a key player in their revival of recent weeks, is under no illusions as to the importance of the game. "It's been a difficult year but all that matters now is survival. "It's complicated but if we beat Villarreal we'll have a chance. They have World Cup winners in their team so it will be difficult, but our fans will play a big part and we owe it to them to get the win," he said. La Liga fixtures Tuesday Getafe v Racing Santander Granada v Espanyol Sporting Gijon v Villarreal Wednesday Atletico Madrid v Real Sociedad Mallorca v Rayo Vallecano Zaragoza v Levante Sevilla v Real Betis Barcelona v Malaga Valencia v Osasuna Athletic Bilbao v Real Madrid

Smith: Olympics will showcase women's game Among the keen observers of the draw for the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament at Wembley Stadium last week was Kelly Smith, a veteran of the game in England, who had a closer view than most as she joined Brazil star Ronaldo and others in assisting with the ceremony. The 33-year-old watched on as Great Britain were placed in Group E alongside Brazil, Cameroon and New Zealand, while intriguing fixtures involving heavyweights Japan, Sweden and USA were formed in the other two pools. Smith, England women’s record goalscorer with 45 goals, feels that London 2012 can help continue the strong momentum currently pushing women’s football following the success of last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in Germany. “This is the time now for women’s football to kick on and really be a showcase to see what the women’s game is about,” the Arsenal Ladies star told FIFA.com. “The opening game at Cardiff is the event before the big ceremony so all eyes will hopefully be on that. This is definitely our time now for women’s football to be seen in the press and on TV and raise the profile of the women’s game.” Gold medal in sight With five of the eight quarter-finalists from Germany 2011, as well as England’s contribution to Team GB, taking part in the July/August tournament, quality is sure to be high. Smith, however, is relishing the prospect of taking on some of the world’s finest teams and believes Great Britain are good enough to claim gold. “I’m really pleased with the draw. Brazil is just a mouth-watering prospect, playing against Marta – one of the best players in the world – at Wembley,” Smith enthused. “New Zealand are an outfit that we are a little bit familiar with, playing for England. “We played them a couple of times before the World Cup, then drew them in the World Cup and beat them. So we know a lot about them and their style of play. And then you have Cameroon, an African team we have never played against. Brazil is just a mouth-watering prospect, playing against Marta – one of the best players in the world – at Wembley. Kelly Smith “I certainly like to think we can win it. The English-based players have got a lot of big-game experience now and we’re progressing in every tournament that we play in. We beat Japan and we were the only team to beat Japan, who eventually won the World Cup last year. We’re certainly moving in the right direction and I don’t see why we can’t get out of the group and reach the final.” Experienced coach Hope Powell, who led England to the last eight of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup where they were eliminated on penalties by France, will take charge of the Great Britain team for the Olympics. Powell can select a squad containing players from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with an announcement expected by the end of this month. Smith admits she has “absolutely no idea” who will be picked but expects a considerable English contingent to be involved. “I know the long list has been made into a shortlist, and I know pretty much nobody has turned it down,” she explained. “A lot of England players have experience of playing tournament football over the last five or six years, going to World Cups and European Championships.” Race for fitness Few have more experience than Smith herself. Her ongoing career, which began 18 years ago, has included two FIFA Women’s World Cups, 15 trophies with Arsenal, two separate spells in USA’s domestic league and more than 100 caps for England. This year provides a first opportunity to appear at an Olympic Football Tournament, though, and it is one that Smith is excited about. She will have to prove her fitness before then, however, as a stress fracture means she is currently using crutches. But the Watford-born forward expects to be ready before the Games kick off. “There’s certainly a chance of me playing. I’m on crutches at the minute but I hope to be off these in a week,” she concluded. “I’ve been biking and swimming to keep up my fitness so June is the time when I’ll be back playing and training with a football. So if everything goes according to plan, hopefully I’ll be fit and hopefully selected.”

Ferguson: City in driving seat now Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson accused Roberto Mancini of "badgering" officials after a furious touchline bust-up with the Manchester City boss on Monday. Ferguson and Mancini had to be separated during an explosive finger-jabbing confrontation in the 76th minute of a highly charged encounter at Eastlands which saw City take control of the title race with a 1-0 victory. Ferguson had leapt from his dugout to protest after an ugly challenge from Nigel De Jong on United substitute Danny Welbeck. The 70-year-old United boss later accused Mancini of harassing officials throughout the title duel. "Mancini was badgering the ref and the fourth official all game," Ferguson told the BBC. "He was complaining about refs all week, but he can't complain about this one." It was a damaging result, they are in the driving seat and we are up against it. They only need to win to two more games and they win the league, simple as that. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson However Ferguson had few complaints about a defeat which he admitted had left the destiny of the title in City's hands. "We didn't test their keeper enough really, we started brightly and for the first 15 minutes we dominated, but the longer the half went on we were looking for half-time and the goal came at a bad time for us," Ferguson said. "I can't complain about the result, they were more of a threat from counter-attacks. "It was a damaging result, they are in the driving seat and we are up against it. They only need to win to two more games and they win the league, simple as that." Ferguson was also unhappy with United's defending for City's winning goal, which came when Vincent Kompany headed in a David Silva corner on the stroke of half-time. "If you lose a goal at a set-piece at this level of football then you only have yourself to blame for that," Ferguson said. "It was a bad time to concede a goal because there was nothing really happening at the end of the first half." Mancini meanwhile brushed off the confrontation with Ferguson. "I was talking with the fourth official, he told me some kind words, I answered him and it finished," said Mancini, who shook hands with Ferguson after the final whistle. Although City now top the table on goal difference, meaning wins over Newcastle and QPR will virtually assure them of the title, Mancini meanwhile insisted that United were still in a strong position to retain their crown. If we think it's finished we make a big mistake. Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini "They have easy games - they play against Swansea and Sunderland. We have Newcastle and QPR. These two teams are strong teams," Mancini said. "For United it will be easy. But we have two strong teams, Newcastle and QPR - one plays for the Champions League, one plays for relegation." "But now it's not finished. If we think it's finished we make a big mistake," Mancini added. Asked what he thought what the key to the game had been, Mancini replied: "They wanted to draw. We wanted to win. I think that was the difference."