# Paulo Josué

Paulo Josué Stürmer dos Reis (born 13 March 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a forward for Malaysia Super League club Kuala Lumpur City which he captains. Born in Brazil, he plays for the Malaysia national team.

## Club career
### Career in Brazil

Josué had played with six different Brazilian clubs before moving abroad.

### Kuala Lumpur City
#### 2017

On 2 June 2017, Josué joined Malaysia Premier League club Kuala Lumpur City during mid-season transfer. He scored 6 goals from 9 league matches and helps the club to win the 2017 Malaysia Premier League which sees the club promoted to the 2018 Malaysia Super League.

#### 2018

Josué scored 7 goals during his Malaysia Super League debut. His contribution helps Kuala Lumpur maintain its super league team status.

#### 2019

In the 2019 season, he did not manage to stop the club from being relegated as the club finished bottom of the table.

#### 2020

For the 2020 league season, he is made the captain of Kuala Lumpur City, which is a rare achievement for a foreign player.

#### 2021

In 2021, Josué captained the team in the final of the 2021 Malaysia Cup. In the final game against the overwhelming favorite Johor Darul Ta'zim, Kuala Lumpur City managed to beat the odds and win the game 2–0. Josué scored the second goal to claim the cup.

#### 2022

On 9 April, Josué scored a brace in 2–0 win over Melaka United to gain the 3 points in the league. During the 2022 AFC Cup campaign, Josué scored a brace in a 2–1 win over Singaporean side Tampines Rovers on 30 June 2022. This win sees his side qualified to the knockout stage where they would face Vietnamese side Viettel. Josué help the Kuala Lumpur City to win the match on penalties shoot-out thus qualifying to the next round against Indonesian club PSM Makassar on 24 August. Josué would then go on to score a brace in a 5–2 home win which would see Kuala Lumpur City advanced to the quarter-finals against Indian club ATK Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium on 7 September. Josué scored in the 60th minute before the opponent scored in the 90th minute to equalise the match at 1–1. With a 5 minute added in stoppage time, Josué then assisted Fakrul Aiman in the 90+2th minute who would then scored the winner. In the 90+5th minute, Romel Morales would then seal the win with a scoreline of 3–1 which then see the club advance to the semi-final. In the semi-finals against Uzbekistani club Sogdiana Jizzakh at the Sogdiyona Sport Majmuasi. Josué then help his team to beat the opponent in the penalties shoot-out which would then see Kuala City Lumpur advanced to the 2022 AFC Cup Final against Omani club Al-Seeb at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on 22 October, However, Kuala City Lumpur lost the final in a 3–0 defeat.

#### 2023

In 2023, Josué helps is team to advanced all the way to the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup final but however lost to Johor Darul Ta'zim 2–0. On 12 October, he scored a brace and assisted

### 2024

During the 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship against Philippines club Kaya–Iloilo on 22 August, Josué assisted Haqimi Azim to scored the winner. On 14 September 2024, Josué scored his first club hat-trick in a 5–0 league win over Kedah Darul Aman. On 1 December 2024, Josué made history by surpasssing Fandi Ahmad top goalscoring of all time for Kuala Lumpur City FC.

## International career

Having played in Malaysia for the last 7 years, Josué obtained his Malaysian citizenship in early 2023, thus enabling him to be registered as a local player and getting a call-up to the Malaysia national team. He received his first national call-up on 18 March 2023 for the training camp ahead of friendly matches against Turkmenistan and Hong Kong. He made his debut for Malaysia against Turkmenistan on 23 March 2023 at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.
He played as a false 9 in the starting line-up against Solomon Islands in a friendly and scored his first international goal on 14 June 2023 at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium. He was once again put in the same position against Papua New Guinea in an international friendly on 20 June 2023. In the match he scored his first international hat-trick where Malaysia won 10–0 at the same venue.
Josué also represents the nation at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup held in Qatar. On 25 January 2024, while Malaysia is losing 2–3 to South Korea, he set up the goal to Romel Morales who then scored the equaliser in the 90+15th minute stoppage time which earned Malaysia their first point of the tournament.
During the 2024 ASEAN Championship match against Timor Leste, as Malaysia was down 2–1, he scored a brace to snatch the 3 points for Malaysia in a 3–2 comeback win.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 29 September 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Kuala Lumpur | 2017 | 9 | 6 | – | – | 6 | 0 | – | – | 15 | 6 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 2018 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 30 | 10 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 2019 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 4 | – | – | 29 | 7 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 2020 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 4 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 2021 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | – | – | 31 | 10 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 2022 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 33 | 13 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 2023 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 11 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 2024–25 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 |
| Kuala Lumpur | Total | 135 | 52 | 13 | 5 | 32 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 188 | 69 |
| Career total | Career total | 135 | 52 | 13 | 5 | 32 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 188 | 69 |
* ↑ Includes Malaysia FA Cup
* ↑ Includes Malaysia Cup and Malaysia Challenge Cup
* ↑ Includes AFC Cup

### International

    As of match played 21 December 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Malaysia | 2023 | 8 | 4 |
| Malaysia | 2024 | 15 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 23 | 8 |
List of international goals scored by Paulo Josué :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 14 June 2023 | Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia | Solomon Islands | 1–1 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 20 June 2023 | Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia | Papua New Guinea | 2–0 | 10–0 | Friendly |
| 3 | 20 June 2023 | Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia | Papua New Guinea | 6–0 | 10–0 | Friendly |
| 4 | 20 June 2023 | Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia | Papua New Guinea | 7–0 | 10–0 | Friendly |
| | 9 January 2024 | Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar | Syria | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly$^1$ |
| 5 | 11 June 2024 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Chinese Taipei | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 18 November 2024 | G. M. C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium, Gachibowli, India | India | 0–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 7 | 11 December 2024 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Timor-Leste | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
| 8 | 11 December 2024 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Timor-Leste | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2024 ASEAN Championship |
$^1$ Not FIFA 'A' International match.

## Honours
### Club

Kuala Lumpur City
* Malaysia Cup: 2021
* Malaysia Premier League: 2017
* AFC Cup runner-up: 2022

### International

Malaysia
* Merdeka Tournament: 2024

### Individual

* AFC Cup top goalscorer: 2022