In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Araújo and the second or maternal family name is Vilches.

César Nahuel Araújo Vilches (born 2 April 2001) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Orlando City and the Uruguay national team.[1]

Club career

Montevideo Wanderers

Growing up in Cerrito, Montevideo, Araújo played for youth club Marconi FC before joining the academy at Montevideo Wanderers. On 1 August 2019, Araújo made his professional debut as a 68th-minute substitute in a 2–1 defeat to Brazilian side Corinthians in the 2019 Copa Sudamericana round of 16.[2] He didn't make another senior appearance for 12 months until substituting on for his Uruguayan Primera División debut on 9 August 2020 in a 2–0 win against Boston River.[3] At the end of the 2021 season, Araújo was named on the bench in the Primera División Team of the Year.[4] He was also named Wanderers' Player of the Year in 2021.[5]

Orlando City

On 7 January 2022, Araújo transferred to Major League Soccer team Orlando City for a reported $2,000,000 fee.[6] He signed a three-year contract with an additional option year and joined as part of the new MLS U22 initiative.[7] On 27 May, Araújo was fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for failing to leave the field in a timely manner after receiving a red card during a match against Austin FC five days earlier.[8] Having never previously scored a goal in his senior club career spanning 88 matches, Araújo scored his first goals on 27 July when he netted twice during a 5–1 victory over New York Red Bulls in a 2022 U.S. Open Cup semifinal.[9]

On 4 April 2023, Araújo was fined by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for violating the league's simulation/embellishment policy in a match against Nashville SC three days earlier.[10]

On 1 March 2025, Araújo made his 100th appearance for the club in a match against Toronto FC. Araújo scored the opening goal, a free kick which hit the post before going into the goal, before assisting in the third goal of the match scored by Martín Ojeda, helping the match end 4–2 in Orlando City's favor.[11] Araújo's performance saw him named to the Team of the Matchday.[12]

International career

Araújo was named to multiple Uruguay under-20 training camps in 2020 and 2021.[13][14]

On 7 January 2022, Araújo received his first senior Uruguay national team call-up as part of a 50-player preliminary roster for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[15] On 21 October 2022, he was named in Uruguay's 55-man preliminary squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[16]

Araújo made his debut on 5 June 2024 in a friendly against Mexico at the Empower Field at Mile High in Denver. He substituted Rodrigo Bentancur in the 89th minute as Uruguay won 4–0.[17]

Personal life

Araújo is the younger brother of professional footballer Maximiliano Araújo.[3]

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 March 2025[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Playoffs Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Montevideo Wanderers 2019 Uruguayan
Primera División 		0 0 — 1[a] 0 — — 1 0
2020 29 0 — — 1[b] 0 — 30 0
2021 29 0 — 2[c] 0 — 1[d] 0 32 0
Total 58 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 63 0
Orlando City 2022 Major League Soccer 32 0 6 2 — 1 0 — 39 2
2023 36 1 1 0 2 0 3 0 3[e] 1 44 2
2024 30 1 — 3 0 5 0 3[e] 0 41 1
2025 2 1 0 0 — — 0 0 2 1
Total 100 3 7 2 5 0 9 0 6 1 126 6
Career total 143 3 7 2 8 0 10 0 7 0 188 6
  1. ^ Copa Sudamericana
  2. ^ 2020 Torneo Intermedio Final
  3. ^ Copa Libertadores
  4. ^ 2021 Supercopa Uruguaya
  5. ^ a b Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played 5 June 2024[1]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Uruguay 2024 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

Orlando City

References

  1. ^ a b c "C. Araújo - Soccerway profile". Soccerway.
  2. ^ "César Araújo: 20 años de puro profesionalismo y afán de superación". El Observador (in Spanish).
  3. ^ a b "Debutantes de la 4a fecha del Torneo Apertura 2020". 13 August 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  4. ^ "¡El 11 ideal del Campeonato Uruguayo en los Premios AUF!". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). 28 December 2021.
  5. ^ "'Garra charrúa' para 'los Leones': César Araújo llega a Orlando". Univision (in Spanish).
  6. ^ "Wanderers: César Araújo dejó el "bohemio" y es nuevo jugador del Orlando City". futbol.com.uy - Montevideo Portal (in Spanish).
  7. ^ "Orlando City SC Acquires Uruguayan Midfielder César Araújo". www.orlandocitysc.com.
  8. ^ "Orlando City SC players fined after Week 13 match at Austin FC". Major League Soccer. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  9. ^ "Orlando City to host 2022 US Open Cup final after dominating New York Red Bulls". MLSSoccer.com.
  10. ^ "MLS Disciplinary Committee fines two players after Matchday 6". Major League Soccer. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Match report: Orlando City SC secures first win of season, takes down Toronto FC 4-2". Orlando City. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  12. ^ Ruderman, Justin (3 March 2025). "Team of the Matchday: Luis Suárez, Emil Forsberg answer the call". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
  13. ^ "La sub-20 enfrentó a Danubio en el Complejo Celeste". www.auf.org.uy.
  14. ^ "29 futbolistas convocados para el primer entrenamiento del año". 25 February 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Selección: Diego Alonso presentó su primera lista de reserva con muchas sorpresas". futbol.com.uy (in Spanish).
  16. ^ "Selección: Diego Alonso entregó la lista de 55 reservados para el Mundial de Catar" (in Spanish). 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Mexico v Uruguay game report". ESPN. 5 June 2024.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Araujo
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