Borussia Dortmund presented Jordi Paulina as a new signing for the U23s. The 19-year-old, who comes from a Dutch amateur club, also had social media to thank for this.

When Borussia Dortmund’s U23s unveiled 19-year-old Jordi Paulina this summer, even most experts were probably surprised at first. The attacking all-rounder comes from USV Hercules in the Dutch fourth division, where he helped his team to fourth place with ten goals in 32 games.

However, Paulina and Hercules caused quite a stir in the Dutch Cup, where they pulled off a real sensation in the second round. On December 12, 2023, they knocked record champions Ajax Amsterdam out of the competition with a goal in the 93rd minute to win 3:2. Young Paulina, who was on the pitch for the full distance and set up the interim 1:0 for Hercules, was also in the thick of it.

“It all started with that game,” said Paulina in an interview with “Voetbal International”, who then uploaded his very first TikTok with his personal highlights from the match “just for fun”. What he didn’t expect: the clip entitled “19-year-old amateur player against Ajax” went viral and – as of June 27 – has collected 721,000 views and over 40,000 likes.

Advisors become aware of Paulina

In addition to enthusiastic fans, the video was also seen by numerous advisors, who became aware of the youngster and contacted her. However, Paulina did not want to sign with a consultant agency straight away, but instead waited for concrete offers – and these were provided by the German-Tunisian Makram Naceur, among others, who contacted him via Instagram, as he explained in an interview with “transfermarkt.de”.

“I thought: How can an amateur footballer with so much self-confidence compete against such well-paid soccer stars?” the consultant looked back on the TikTok video – and provided two specific interested parties. Werder Bremen had looked at Paulina, but the young Dutchman with roots in Curacao opted for BVB, where he impressed during a trial and was given a contract until 2027.

Paulina had almost given up on professional soccer

Paulina’s dream of making it as a professional footballer was almost over. He had to leave the FC Utrecht academy in 2021. “In the last two years in Utrecht, I had already asked myself questions: Is this really what I want?” he looked back to “Voetbal International”. “I had also lost the joy of soccer a bit. Since I left FC Utrecht, I was able to focus on school again and play soccer with my mates.” Last year, he even began studying psychology in Amsterdam.

But now the professional dream is alive again – and more than ever. At the latest when Paulina was able to greet the BVB professionals, who were having a media day next door, on the day he signed in Dortmund, he also knew: “It’s all very real now. “