Julián Araujo

Mexican footballer (born 2001)

Julián Araujo
Araujo in 2019
Personal information
Full name Julián Vicente Araujo Zúñiga[1]
Date of birth (2001-08-13) 13 August 2001 (age 22)
Place of birth Lompoc, California, United States
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Las Palmas
(on loan from Barcelona)
Number 28
Youth career
Central Coast Condors
Santa Barbara Soccer Club
Barça Residency Academy
2018–2019 LA Galaxy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 LA Galaxy II 2 (0)
2019–2022 LA Galaxy 100 (1)
2023– Barcelona 0 (0)
2023– → Las Palmas (loan) 25 (1)
International career‡
2017 United States U16 4 (0)
2017–2018 United States U18 6 (0)
2018 United States U19 2 (0)
2018 United States U20 2 (0)
2019–2021 United States U23 6 (0)
2020 United States 1 (0)
2021– Mexico 13 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Mexico
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Winner 2023 United States–Canada Team
CONCACAF Nations League
Third place 2023 United States
Runner-up 2024 United States
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 March 2024

Julián Vicente Araujo Zúñiga (born 13 August 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for La Liga club Las Palmas, on loan from Barcelona. Born in the United States, he represents the Mexico national team.[3]

Youth

Araujo was born in Lompoc, California, and is of Mexican descent. He attended Lompoc High School.[4] After two years at Lompoc High School, he left home and joined Barça Residency Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona in 2017.[5]

In March 2017, Araujo had committed to playing college soccer at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 2018 onward.[6]

Club career

LA Galaxy II

Araujo made his professional debut in a 2–2 draw with Seattle Sounders FC 2 on 4 October 2018, coming on as an 88th-minute substitute for Nate Shultz.[7]

LA Galaxy

On 1 March 2019, LA Galaxy acquired Araujo after trading $50,000 of Targeted Allocation Money to Colorado Rapids to gain the first spot in the Waivers Order.[8]

Araujo made 108 total appearances with the Galaxy, scoring once in the regular season and again in the playoffs. He became a regular starter beginning in 2019 and finished 2021 and 2022 as the team's defender of the year.[9]

Barcelona

On 1 February 2023, FC Barcelona and LA Galaxy agreed on a transfer for Araujo. The paperwork, however, was delivered 18 seconds late,[10] and the deal was left in limbo after FIFA rejected the transfer but the Court of Arbitration for Sport overruled.[11] Ultimately, by 17 February Araujo was transferred to Barcelona.[9]

Loan to Las Palmas

On 1 August 2023, Araujo was loaned to La Liga side Las Palmas for the entire 2023–24 season.[12][13]

On 31 October, Araujo scored his first goal with the club in a 3–0 away win against Manacor to advance in the second round of the Copa del Rey.[14] On 1 December, he scored his first league goal with the club, scoring the first goal in their 2–0 win over Getafe.[15] On 7 January 2024, during a Copa del Rey match against Tenerife, Araujo picked up a red card for a violent conduct on Nacho Martínez after Nacho Martínez had gone down in the penalty area. On 10 January, it was announced that he would serve a four-match suspension.[16] He returned a month later on 10 February, coming on in stoppage-time for Marvin Park in their 2–0 win over Valencia.

International career

United States

Araujo was eligible to play for the United States or Mexico.[17]

After an injury to Ayo Akinola, Araujo was named to the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup squad to represent the United States under-20.[18]

Araujo was called into the United States national soccer team by Gregg Berhalter for the January 2020 camp, but did not make an official match appearance.[4] He was called up again in December 2020 for a game against El Salvador, in which he made his senior level debut.[19] Araujo was named to the final 20-player United States under-23 roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship in March 2021.[20]

On 18 June 2021, Araujo was named to the preliminary 59-player USMNT roster for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup but was left off the final roster on 1 July 2021. Berhalter cited Araujo's dual citizenship and unwillingness to become cap-tied to the USMNT.[21]

Mexico

On 13 August 2021, sports media in Mexico reported that Araujo himself had filed and submitted the one-time switch to FIFA in order to join Mexico.[22] As of 4 October 2021 FIFA officially approved Araujo's case.[23][24]

On 27 November 2021, Araujo was included in the Mexico national football team call-up by Gerardo Martino for a friendly match against Chile set to take place on 8 December.[25] He was given a starting berth in Mexico's 2–2 draw, playing the full 90 minutes.[26] In making his debut, Araujo became the third player in the history of the Mexico–United States rivalry in having represented both national teams alongside Martín Vásquez and Edgar Castillo.[27]

In the summer of 2023, Araujo was part of Mexico national team that reached 3rd-place finish at the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals and won the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 May 2024[28]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
LA Galaxy II 2018 USL 2 0 — — — 2 0
LA Galaxy 2019 MLS 18 0 1 0 — 1[b] 0 20 0
2020 17 1 — — — 17 1
2021 32 0 — — — 32 0
2022 33 0 4 0 — 2[c] 1 39 1
Total 100 1 5 0 — 3 1 108 2
Barcelona 2022–23 La Liga 0 0 — — — 0 0
Las Palmas (loan) 2023–24 La Liga 25 1 3 1 — — 28 2
Career total 127 2 8 1 0 0 3 1 138 4
  1. ^ Includes U.S. Open Cup and Copa del Rey
  2. ^ Appearance in Leagues Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in MLS Cup Playoffs

International

As of match played 21 March 2024[29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Mexico 2021 1 0
2022 2 0
2023 9 0
2024 1 0
Total 13 0

Honours

United States U20

Mexico

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: USA" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Julián Araujo". UD Las Palmas. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Julián Araujo, new Barça Atlètic player (17-02-23)". www.fcbarcelona.com. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Lompoc native Julian Araujo gets a potential starting chance as Galaxy resume season". Santa Maria Times.
  5. ^ Reyna, Lorenzo J. (17 July 2018). "Julian Araujo completes first season with Barca Academy as an All-Conference player". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  6. ^ Reyna, Lorenzo J. (21 March 2017). "Araujo commits to UCSB, Prendergast lands first offer". Santa Yves Valley News.
  7. ^ "Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs LA Galaxy II". Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  8. ^ "LA Galaxy sign defender Julian Araujo | LA Galaxy".
  9. ^ a b "LA Galaxy Transfer Defender Julián Araujo to FC Barcelona | LA Galaxy".
  10. ^ "Source: Araujo trains at Barca amid transfer delay". 15 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Julián Araujo poised to join Barcelona as CAS overrules FIFA". 15 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Julián Araujo, nuevo jugador de la UD Las Palmas". UD Las Palmas. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Julián Araujo to go on loan to Las Palmas". FC Barcelona. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  14. ^ "La UD sella en la segunda parte de Manacor su pase copero (0-3)" (in Spanish). 31 October 2023.
  15. ^ Jason Anderson (1 December 2023). "Julian Araujo bags his first La Liga goal as Las Palmas downs Getafe". prosoccerwire.
  16. ^ Gill Clark (10 January 2024). "Barcelona loanee Julian Araujo hit with four-match ban after red card for Las Palmas". barcablaugranes.
  17. ^ "Un Estados Unidos muy 'mexicano' clasifica al Mundial Sub-20". 17 November 2018.
  18. ^ "Julian Araujo added to U.S. roster for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup | LA Galaxy".
  19. ^ "USA 6 - El Salvador 0: Match Report & Stats". www.ussoccer.com.
  20. ^ "U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team Head Coach Jason Kreis Names Roster for Concacaf Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship". www.ussoccer.com. 11 March 2021.
  21. ^ @SoccerByIves (1 July 2021). "Gregg Berhalter reveals that Julian Araujo, a dual national, wasn't ready to make the final step to committing to t…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Reportes: Julián Araujo decide jugar con la Selección Mexicana". tudn.mx (in Spanish). 13 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Julián Araujo ya es jugador elegible para México". mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). 4 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Q&A: Julian Araujo on why he chose to represent Mexico instead of the USMNT". The Athletic. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  25. ^ "Convocatoria de la Selección Nacional de México". MiSeleccion (in Spanish). 9 December 2021.
  26. ^ "La SNM cerró la actividad del 2021 con empate". MiSeleccion (in Spanish). 8 December 2021.
  27. ^ "Julián Araujo makes Mexico debut after switching from US". apnews.com. 8 December 2021.
  28. ^ Julián Araujo at Soccerway. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  29. ^ Julián Araujo at National-Football-Teams.com
  30. ^ "Mexico beats Panama in Gold Cup final with late Gimenez goal". ESPN. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  31. ^ "2021 MLS All-Star Team Roster". MLSsoccer.
  32. ^ "2022 MLS All-Star Game Roster". Major League Soccer. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  33. ^ "LA Galaxy announce 2020 team awards | LA Galaxy".
  34. ^ "LA Galaxy announce 2021 team awards | LA Galaxy".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julian Araujo.
  • v
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UD Las Palmas – current squad
  • v
  • t
  • e
Mexico squad – 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners (9th title)
Mexico