Boca Juniors present Riquelme (2 Dec 2007 11:18 GMT)
Argentine soccer star Juan Roma Riquelme was presented on Thursday as Boca Juniors' new recruit and he said he wants to play the World Soccer Club Championship in Japan.
"I want to be in that World Championship," Riquelme said on Thursday despite the Federation of International Football Associations' (FIFA) refusal to approve his participation.
"It is not just for our club, it is also for Argentine soccer. I have great hope," said the offensive midfielder, who joined from Spain's Villareal on a 2.5-year contract for nine million euros to be paid by Boca in four years.
"We not only have the world's best player for Boca's fans, but also have him in his career's best moment," Boca's president Pedro Pompilio said.
Pompilio added that Argentina's Soccer Association (AFA) president Julio Grondona "is negotiating" with FIFA on Riquelme's authorization to participate in the Dec. 7-16 event in Japan.
"We are optimists, but we must wait one or two days more. A star like Riquelme gives prestige to the event. FIFA's juridical department is going to resolve this," Pompilio said.
source : Xinhua