Néstor Araujo

Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo (born 29 August 1991) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga MX club América and the Mexico national team. He is an Olympic gold medalist.[3]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Araujo and the second or maternal family name is Razo.
Néstor Araujo
Araujo with Celta in 2018
Personal information
Full name Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo[1]
Date of birth (1991-08-29) 29 August 1991[1]
Place of birth Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 América
Number 14
Youth career
2007–2013 Cruz Azul
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 Cruz Azul 49 (0)
2013–2014 → Santos Laguna (loan) 29 (0)
2014–2018 Santos Laguna 106 (3)
2018–2022 Celta 133 (4)
2022– América 31 (0)
International career‡
2011 Mexico U20 13 (0)
2011–2012 Mexico U23 18 (0)
2011– Mexico 67 (3)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Mexico
CONCACAF Gold Cup
Winner2019 United StatesTeam
Runner-up2021 United StatesTeam
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2012 LondonTeam
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2011 GuadalajaraTeam
CONCACAF U-20 Championship
Winner2011 GuatemalaTeam
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 July 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 June 2023

Araujo began his career with Cruz Azul in 2010, and played with the club for three years before joining Santos Laguna, initially in a loan deal which the club made permanent the following year. At Santos, he played in over 100 matches, winning the Liga MX on two occasions.

He competed internationally since 2011: Araujo played at the 2011 Copa America, 2012 Toulon Tournament, Copa America Centenario, and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He was on the Mexico team at the 2012 Summer Olympics that won the gold medal.[3]

Club career

Cruz Azul

Araujo joined Cruz Azul's youth academy in 2007, making his way through the Cruz Azul Premier team and the under-20s.

In 2010, Enrique Meza promoted Araujo to the first team.[4] On 19 September, Araujo made his Primera División debut for Cruz Azul,[5] playing 90 minutes in the 3–0 home victory against Querétaro.[6]

Santos Laguna
Araujo lining up for Santos Laguna in 2016.

On 5 June 2013, Araujo joined Santos Laguna on a year-long loan deal with an option to buy.[7] He made his league debut on 26 July against his former club Cruz Azul, playing the entire match as Santos earned a 3–2 victory. On 19 August 2014, Araujo scored his first goal for Santos in a 3–0 win over UAT in the Copa MX.[8] He won his first cup with Santos Laguna following their victory over Puebla in the final of the Apertura Copa MX.[9] The following year, Araujo won his first league title as Santos defeated Querétaro in the finals of the Clausura tournament.[10] On 20 July, Santos defeated Club América to win the 2015 Campeón de Campeones cup; Araujo started the match and played all 90 minutes.[11]

In May 2018, Santos Laguna defeated Toluca to win the Clausura tournament following a 3–2 aggregate score in the finals. Araujo missed the finals due to an injury he suffered while on international duty with the Mexico national team.[12]

Celta de Vigo

On 14 June 2018, Araujo joined Spanish club Celta de Vigo on a five-year contract.[13] On 21 July, he made his debut in a friendly match against Espanyol.[14]

América

On 24 June 2022, Araujo returned to Mexico and joined Club América on permanent basis.[15] On September 2023, he suffered a knee injury and was ruled out for the rest of the season.[16]

International career

Araujo received his first international call up in 2011 during the 2011 Copa America. In his international debut, he scored in a 2–1 loss against Chile during their first group stage match. He would go on to appear in the rest of the group stage matches and Mexico would end up last in the group.

Araujo would be an international regular under Juan Carlos Osorio, participating in various friendlies, the CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Copa America Centenario, and the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

On 27 March 2018, during a friendly match against Croatia, Araujo was forced off the pitch after 15 minutes when suffering an knee injury.[17] He was sidelined since then, however in May he was named in Mexico's preliminary 28-man squad for the World Cup in Russia but had to withdraw due to experiencing tendonitis during his recovery.[18][19]

Araujo was part of the squad that won the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[20]

In October 2022, Araujo was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.[21]

Personal life

Araujo has an older brother, Félix, who is also a professional footballer.[22]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 9 August 2023[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cruz Azul 2010–11 Liga MX 170—2[lower-alpha 2]0—190
2011–12 240—5[lower-alpha 3]0—290
2012–13 80100——180
Total 49010070—660
Santos Laguna (loan) 2013–14 Liga MX 290204[lower-alpha 3]0—350
Santos Laguna 2014–15 Liga MX 160102—1[lower-alpha 4]0272
2015–16 361—8[lower-alpha 2]0—441
2016–17 28251——333
2017–18 26051——311
Total 106320480101357
Celta 2018–19 La Liga 32310——333
2019–20 34120——361
2020–21 330———330
2021–22 340———340
Total 133430——1364
América 2022–23 Liga MX 290———290
2023–24 20——4[lower-alpha 5]060
Total 310——40350
Career total 34873541905040711
  1. Includes Copa MX and Copa del Rey
  2. Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
  3. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  4. Appearance in Campeón de Campeones
  5. Appearances in Leagues Cup

International
As of match played 10 June 2023[24]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Mexico 201131
201680
2017132
201850
201980
202040
2021140
202290
202330
Total673
Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Araujo goal.
List of international goals scored by Néstor Araujo[24]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
14 July 2011Estadio del Bicentenario, San Juan, Argentina Chile1–01–22011 Copa América
224 March 2017Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Costa Rica2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
324 June 2017Kazan Arena, Kazan, Russia Russia1–12–12017 FIFA Confederations Cup

Honours

Cruz Azul

Santos Laguna

Mexico U20

Mexico U23

Mexico

Individual

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: List of Players: Mixeco" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. "Profile". RC Celta. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  3. "Olympics football: Mexico shock Brazil to win gold". BBC. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  4. "Néstor Alejandro Araujo Razo". LigaMX.net. LIGA BBVA Bancomer MX. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  5. Néstor Araujo – Liga MX stats at MedioTiempo.com (archive) (in Spanish)
  6. Ballinas, Diana (19 September 2010). "Néstor Araujo, feliz por su debut en triunfo celeste" (in Spanish). Medio Tiempo.
  7. "Oficial: Néstor Araujo es nuevo jugador de Santos Laguna". El Siglo de Torreón. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  8. "Santos Laguna goleó 3-0 a Correcaminos UAT en Copa MX". Fox Sports. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  9. Ruiz, Alberto. "La Copa MX se quedó en el cielo... Santos, Campeón". MedioTiempo. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  10. "Santos se proclamó Campeón ante un histórico Gallo". MedioTiempo. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  11. "¡Santos Laguna, Campeón de Campeones!". El Siglo de Torreón. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  12. "¡La tercera, ya no! Santos es Campeón en el que había sido su Infierno". Medio Tiempo. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  13. "Celta de Vigo anuncia fichaje de Nestor Araujo". espn.com.mx. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  14. "Néstor Araujo debutó en partido amistoso con Celta de Vigo". ESPN. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  15. @ClubAmerica (24 June 2022). "Bienvenido al Nido" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. "Néstor Araujo suffers knee ligament injury and will miss the rest of Liga MX Apertura 2023". Diario AS. 19 September 2023.
  17. "Néstor Araujo abandona el partido ante Croacia por una lesión en la rodilla". MARCA Claro. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  18. Marshall, Tom (14 May 2018). "Rafa Marquez makes Mexico's preliminary World Cup squad". ESPN. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  19. Arnold, Jon. "Mexico's 2018 World Cup roster: Who joins Chicharito & Guardado in final 23-man squad?". Sporting News. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  20. "Nestor Araujo: "To win the Gold Cup is an amazing feeling"". Gold Cup. 23 July 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  21. Moro, Omar (14 November 2022). "Lista de convocados de la Selección Mexicana al Mundial de Qatar 2022". Tvazteca.com (in Spanish).
  22. "Félix Araujo vs. Néstor Araujo, disputa familiar en la Selva" (in Spanish). Marca Claro. 29 April 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  23. "Néstor Araujo » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  24. Néstor Araujo at National-Football-Teams.com
  25. Straus, Brian (7 July 2019). "Mexico Turns Tide, Wins Gold Cup Title Again vs. Wasteful USMNT". Sports Illustrated.
  26. CONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (7 June 2021). "Here is the Best XI of the Concacaf Nations League Finals" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 June 2021 – via Twitter.
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