Cardozo was born in Mendoza, Argentina. He was signed to the Boca Juniors senior squad from the Youth Divisions of Boca Juniors at 17 years of age. His debut for Boca was in a 0–0 draw on 16 February 2004 against Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata. Cardozo has contributed to the many achievements that Boca Juniors have accomplished since he signed for them, including a Copa Libertadores title, two Copa Sudamericana and Recopa Sudamericana titles, the Argentine Torneo de Apertura title of 2005 and the Torneo de Clausura title of 2006. He too was a part of the Boca squad which played in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, Cardozo scored in the semi-final 1–0 victory against Tunisian side Étoile Sportive du Sahel before losing 4–2 in the final against AC Milan. On 27 March 2008, in a Copa Libertadores 4–3 win against Colo-Colo, Cardozo assisted Rodrigo Palacio in scoring Boca's third goal and then scored the fourth goal himself. On 3 January 2009, he was announced an official player for Chiapas, but got in legal problems when his former team Boca Juniors claimed that Cardozo left the team without consent. On 28 December 2009, Cardozo was sent on loanCF Monterrey. On 16 February 2010, Cardozo made his debut with Monterrey, and became a quick starter in their line up, he led Monterrey to the quarter finals as first place, going as far as the quarter-finals, losing to Pachuca. Cardozo has already been seen by many European teams because of his great speed, good shot power, and great passing skills.
International career
Cardozo was a part of the Argentine squad that reached the semi-finals in the 2003 U-17 World Cup in Finland. Later that year he was called up to play for the Argentina Under-20 squad. Neri Cardozo started his youth international career in 2003. Neri also played in the Argentina Under-20 in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship that reached the semi-finals. Two years later, Neri helped Argentina claim their fifth FIFA World Youth Championship; however, he missed the final due to suspension. Alfio Basile called up Cardozo for a friendly against Chile at senior level on 18 April 2007. Cardozo played 70 minutes of the match and Alfio Basile also said that Neri Cardozo has big talent and could also be a star player for Argentina national football team.