Clemerson de Araújo Soares

Clemerson de Araújo Soares, best known as Araújo (born 8 August 1977) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Career Araujo was born in Caruaru, PE, Brazil. He played for Japanese side Gamba Osaka in 2005; his 33 league goals helped Gamba to the 2005 J1 League title. 2005 was his last season in Japan. Araujo left for his homeland to sign for Cruzeiro. Two years later Araujo left for Qatar where he the 2007–08 season top scorer award.

Al-Gharafa Al-Gharafa, known as Al Fuhud (The Cheetahs) were Qatar's champions for three years in a row. Araujo was a leading star in the team's success, leading the scorers list for the entire 2008 season. On 4 March 2008, after scoring against Al Khor, he matched Gabriel Batistuta's record of 25 goals in one season. He eventually ended the season as the league's top scorer with 27 goals, a record that was broken in December 2018 by Baghdad Bounedjah. He played alongside fellow Brazilian Juninho Pernambucano. He left in 2010 for personal reasons, but in 2012 he stated he was interested in rejoining the club.

Career statistics

Honours Goiás State League: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 Brazilian League (2nd division): 1999 Brazilian Center-West Cup: 2000, 2001, 2002 J1 League: 2005 Minas Gerais State League: 2006 Qatar Stars League: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10 Qatari Stars Cup: 2009–10 Emir of Qatar Cup: 2009 Qatar Crown Prince Cup: 2009–10

Individual World's top scorer in 2005: 33 goals in 33 games, considered world's best striker in 2005 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). J. League MVP: 2005 J. League Top Scorer: 2005 J. League Best Eleven: 2005 Japanese Footballer of the Year: 2005 Qatari League Top Scorer: 2007–08 Super Awards Best Player in Qatar Stars League: 2009