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 le ...

who most recently played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

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 the third division of the US soccer league system and plays the ...

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

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 is the third tier of the Brazilian football league system. Unlike the first and second divisions, the Série C is not played in a double round robin system, arguably because many participating teams lack the f ...

in 2008.

United States

Araujo signed with

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional 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 (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

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 one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

. 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 fo ...

. 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 Un ...

, Araujo was loaned to

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

for the final few months of the

2010 Major League Soccer season The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 32nd with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada, and the 15th in Major League Soccer, MLS history. It began on March 25 at Seatt ...

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

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

. 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 or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...

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

2011 MLS season Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...

. 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 the t ...

and was selected by

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

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), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

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

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays it ...

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

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

side

Penn FC Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was 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 the United States socc ...

. 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

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jr., Paulo 1989 births Living people Brazilian footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ituano FC players Miami FC (2006) players Real Salt Lake players Fort Lauderdale Strikers players Ottawa Fury FC players Indy Eleven players Penn FC players Expatriate soccer players in the United States USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Clube Náutico Capibaribe players Forward Madison FC players Association football forwards USL League One players Sportspeople from Piauí