'This is for Riquelme'

Neri Cardozo has dedicated his winning goal in Boca Juniors' 1-0 Club World Cup semifinal win over Tunisia's Etoile Sahel to missing superstar Juan Roman Riquelme.
Cardozo put his hands behind his ears, imitating puppet mouse Topo Gigio, when he celebrated the first goal of his international club career in the 37th minute at the National Stadium here Wednesday.
"I celebrated that way for Roman, who was in Tokyo but unable to take part. He came up to me before the game to wish me luck and told me to play as I knew how," 21-year-old Cardozo told FIFA.com afterwards.
"After the game, he returned to congratulate me for the goal and thank me for dedicating it to him," he added.
"He's very important to us, not just as a player but also as a team-mate and a friend. His presence gave us all a big lift."
Riquelme, who recently moved from Spain's Villarreal to his old club, was ruled out of the annual tournament of continental champions because he missed the deadline to join Boca's preliminary list of players.
But the 29-year-old playmaker has come to Japan and trained with the team ahead of the semifinal.
He earlier told reporters here: "It is a very important tournament. I will stick together with teammates and support them even though I am not allowed to play."
Riquelme played for Boca between 1996 and 2002, helping them win six league and international titles.
He also played on loan from Villarreal during the Argentine side's victory in South America's Libertadores Cup, scoring eight goals and becoming the most valuable player of the championship.
Cardozo, who has taken part in two FIFA Under-20 World Cups, said: "When you score the goal that wins a game for your side and sends them through to a final, you cannot ask for much more."
"I haven't played much recently because of an injury, so this goal will give me tons of confidence for what lies ahead."
Boca will play the winners of the other semifinal between Italy's AC Milan and Urawa Reds of Japan in Yokohama later Thursday.
Boca and Milan each won the South America-Europe Intercontinental Cup three times before it was merged into the Club World Cup in 2005.