Quick Facts
Biography
Sergio Ezequiel Araujo (born 28 January 1992) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Spanish club UD Las Palmas as a striker.
Club career
Boca Juniors
Born in Buenos Aires, Araujo graduated with Boca Juniors' youth setup. He played his first match as a professional on 13 December 2009, coming on as a late substitute for Nicolás Gaitán in a 0–2 home loss against Banfield for the Primera División championship.
Araujo scored his first professional goal on 21 November 2010, netting the first in a 2–1 home win against Arsenal de Sarandí. However, he was mainly used as a backup to Pablo Mouche and Lucas Viatri, appearing sparingly.
On 25 July 2012 Araujo moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing a two-year loan deal with FC Barcelona and being assigned to the reserves in Segunda División. He made his debut for the club on 17 August, playing the last 36 minutes of the 4–5 home loss against UD Almería.
Araujo scored his first goals for Barça B on 1 December, netting a brace in a 2–1 away win against CD Lugo. He finished the campaign with seven goals in 34 appearances, but returned to his parent club on 25 June 2013 nonetheless.
On 17 July 2013 Araujo was loaned to Tigre, after being deemed suplus to requirements by manager Carlos Bianchi. He appeared in 19 matches for the club, scoring four goals; he was sent off on 28 September in a 1–0 home win over CA Colón for an aggression against Maximiliano Caire.
Las Palmas
On 19 July 2014 Araujo returned to Spain, joining UD Las Palmas in a season-long loan deal. He made his debut for the Canarians on 23 August, starting and scoring the last in a 2–0 home win against UE Llagostera. Las Palmas came fourth and made the play-offs, in which Araujo opened a 1–1 draw at Real Valladolid in the first leg of the semi-finals; he missed a penalty in added time in the goalless second as his team advanced on the away goals rule. On 21 June 2015, in the final second leg against Real Zaragoza at the Estadio Gran Canaria, he scored an 84th-minute goal that made it 2–0 on the night, 3–3 on aggregate, thus sending Los Amarillos into La Liga via the same rule.
Araujo appeared in 43 matches and scored 25 goals over the season for the Canary Islands outfit, being the club's top goalscorer and the second overall. Despite strong links to a move to Celtic and Real Sociedad the club managed to buy him outright, with the player signing a five-year deal.
On 22 August 2015 Araujo made his La Liga debut, starting in a 0–1 away loss against Atlético Madrid. He scored his first goal in the category on 13 September, netting his team's first in a 3–3 draw at Celta de Vigo
On 24th September, Araujo scored an equalising goal in the 84th minute in a home game against Real Madrid.
International career
In 2009 Araujo represented Argentina at the South American U-17 Championship. He scored three goals in five appearances as side eventually finished second and qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Araujo also appeared in 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria, scoring a 59th-minute winner against Honduras in Argentina's opening game, as well as a 58th-minute winner in a 2–1 victory against Germany in Argentina's second game. Argentina progressed to the round of 16, where he scored to put them 2–0 ahead of Colombia. However, Colombia would end up winning the game 3–2.
Araujo represented the Argentina U-23 national team at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. He scored in Argentina's opening 1-1 draw with Brazil, but was sent off in the 85th minute. Argentina reached the final, where they lost 1-0 against hosts Mexico.
Honours
- Boca Juniors
- Primera División: 2011 Apertura