Paulo Morais de Araújo Júnior (born January 23, 1989) is a Brazilian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who most recently played as a forward for

Forward Madison FC Forward Madison FC is an American professional soccer team based in Madison, Wisconsin. The team was founded in 2018, and played its inaugural season in 2019. The team competes in USL League One, the third division of the United States soccer l ...

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

Career

Brazil

Araujo was a member of the youth sides at Flamengo do Piaui and Ituano and began his professional career with Ituano in the

Campeonato Brasileiro Série C The Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, commonly known as the Série C or the Brazilian Série C to distinguish it from the Italian Serie C, is the third tier of the Brazilian football league system. Unlike the first and second divisions, the Sér ...

in 2008.

United States

Araujo signed with

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

in early 2009. After receiving his work visa in May 2009, Araujo made his debut for Miami on May 20, 2009, in a game against

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

. He scored his first career professional goal on June 20, 2009, in a game against

Cleveland City Stars The Cleveland City Stars were an American professional soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2009. The club folde ...

. On March 15, 2010 Miami announced the re-signing of Araujo to a new contract for the 2010 season. On September 9, 2010, having enjoyed a successful season with

in the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

, Araujo was loaned to

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

for the final few months of the

2010 Major League Soccer season The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 15th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 32nd with a national first-division league. Negotiations between the league an ...

. Araujo scored his first goal for Salt Lake on September 15, 2010 in a 4–1 win over

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

. He scored a brace (2 goals) in the final match of

group-stage tournament play in Rio Tinto Stadium against Mexican giants,

Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul S.A. de C.V., commonly referred to as Cruz Azul, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football league system, Mexican footba ...

. Having enjoyed a successful initial loan spell, RSL extended the loan on December 27, 2010 through the

2011 MLS season The 2011 Major League Soccer season was the 16th season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 99th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 33rd with a national first-division league. This season marked the arrival of ...

. The extension also provided RSL the option to purchase Araujo and sign him through the 2014 season. The club exercised its purchase option in February 2012 and promptly signed Araujo through 2014. Paulo Jr. was released by Salt Lake on December 3, 2012. He elected to participate in the

2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1), and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as th ...

and was selected by

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

in stage two of the draft on December 14, 2012. He signed with Vancouver on January 23, 2013 and was waived on April 17 having not played any league or national cup matches for the team. On August 8, 2013 the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

announced that Paulo Jr. had joined the club. On September 8, 2017,

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

announced that Paulo Jr. signed with the team. On June 19, 2018, Paulo Jr. signed with

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

side

Penn FC Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of th ...

. Paulo Jr. signed with

ahead of their 2019 season. He scored eight goals in two seasons with the team, earning a spot on the

All-League Second Team in 2019.

References

External links

* * {{MLS player, paulo-jr 1989 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ituano FC players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) players Real Salt Lake players Fort Lauderdale Strikers players Ottawa Fury FC players Indy Eleven players Penn FC players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Clube Náutico Capibaribe players Forward Madison FC players Men's association football forwards USL League One players Sportspeople from Teresina Footballers from Piauí 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen