Michael Araujo is a retired South African soccer player who played professionally in South Africa, the United States, Canada and Ireland.

Player

Club career

Araujo's parents moved from Portugal to South Africa where he was born. In 1986, Araujo entered the College of Boca Raton, now known as Lynn University. He played two seasons of NAIA soccer at Boca Raton, winning the 1987

NAIA national men's soccer championship The NAIA Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, NAIA men's College soccer in the United States, college soccer in the United States and Canada. ...

. Araujo was also a 1987 NAIA Second Team All American. He finished his degree at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

. In 1990, Roy Wiggemansen, former coach of Boca Raton, brought Araujo into the

Montreal Supra Montreal Supra was a Soccer in Canada, Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec that played in the Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992), Canadian Soccer League from 1988 to 1992. History Montre ...

which Wiggemansen now coached. Araujo was a

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

All League midfielder that year. In 1991, he returned to Florida where he played for Holly FC in the Gold Coast League In 1992, he played a single season for the

Boca Raton Sabres The Boca Raton Sabres were a soccer club based in Boca Raton, Florida, that competed in the USISL. The Sabres played their first season in 1992. The team made its home debut on May 6, 1992, defeating the Montreal Supra of the Canadian Soccer Leag ...

in the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

. On 30 March 1993, Araujo became one of the first players signed by the Coral Springs Kicks. He led the USISL in assists that season. In the fall of 1993, Araujo moved to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

to play for Glenavon F.C. In 1995, he played for the Atlanta Ruckus in the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

. He moved indoors in the fall of 1995 with the Cincinnati Silverbacks of the National Professional Soccer League, playing three seasons with the Silverbacks. In the spring of 1997, Araujo played four games for the Orlando Sundogs of the USISL before signing with the Sacramento Knights of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

for the summer indoor season. In 1998, Araujo moved back to South Africa to join

SuperSport United SuperSport United Football Club (often known as SuperSport) is a South African professional association football, football club based in Atteridgeville in Pretoria in the Gauteng province. The team currently plays in the South African Premier Di ...

. In 1999, the team won the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of gi ...

. Araujo lives and plays for amateur and division four clubs in the United States. In 2007, he played for the Fox and Hounds in the Gold Coast Soccer League Over 30 Division. In 2008, he was with Fort Lauderdale in the Florida Elite Soccer League.

International

Araujo played/captained the South African youth national team(1983&1984).

Coach

Director of coaching for Teamboca boys soccer program (2002–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Araujo, Michael Living people 1969 births South African people of Portuguese descent Atlanta Silverbacks FC players American Professional Soccer League players Boca Raton Sabres players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Expatriate men's association footballers in Northern Ireland Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Glenavon F.C. players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Lynn Fighting Knights men's soccer players Montreal Supra players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Orlando Sundogs players Sacramento Knights players South African expatriate sportspeople in Canada South African expatriate sportspeople in the United States South African men's soccer players South African expatriate men's soccer players SuperSport United F.C. players USISL players A-League (1995–2004) players Men's association football forwards White South African people 20th-century South African sportsmen