Another impressive feature of BP’s operation is that many of their players come from Stockholm or the surrounding areas – like Gyokeres, Kulusevski and Bergvall.
Berglund adds: “I think it’s really important that you try to do the best of everything in Stockholm before you try to see different cities.”
Nathorst Windahl explains: “We have the history in Stockholm that Brommapojkarna has always been number one in talent and scouting, that’s one of our key successes.
“Every player knows the other players that have been here and gone on to become professional have always spoken about the time at Brommapojkarna as the foundation that got them to where they are today.
“It is like religion. If you think that we can help you in giving you a good chance to become a professional player, then you have to believe us, trust us, follow us.
“It’s rare that we bring players in from different cities in Sweden, so when I saw Barcelona bring players from Asia, we brought a player in who was 15 minutes away by bus.”
BP have enjoyed great success against big European teams such as Paris St-Germain and Ajax in their lower age groups, but Nathorst Windahl says beyond the age of 15 it can be difficult to compete.
Kulusevski, for example, left Brommapojkarna at 15 to join Atalanta’s academy, before moving on to Juventus two years later and then Tottenham in January 2022.
Tipped for big things as a youngster by Nathorst Windahl, the 25-year-old has won Sweden’s Guldbollen, an award given to the country’s best player, in two of the past three years. Gyokeres took the prize in 2024.
Bergvall, meanwhile, came through BP’s ranks, helping them win promotion back to the top flight before moving to Swedish champions Djurgarden. He joined Spurs aged 18 last summer.
“Lucas is the perfect central midfielder. I think that he can play in any club in the world. No problem,” says Nathorst Windahl.
“I think that he is the Swedish player that the younger boys from Sweden and Scandinavia should have on their walls, because he is going to be the best.
“When you are a young boy, you like the goalkeeper because you are a goalkeeper or maybe the top scorer, or the one with the coolest haircut.
“But if you look at Lucas, he looks like a model. He can run, he can shoot, he can pass and dribble.
“We are happy that we have helped him from six years old to 17 to then be where he is today.
“I don’t like the word talent, but he was a talent from the day he was born.”
