In brief: Based on active teams, BP is the biggest club in Europe. The vast majority of them are youth teams and their academy has churned out a number of future Swedish internationals, such as Manchester City striker John Guidetti. Unfortunately for their first team, this does not translate into success or supporters. As a top-flight club, they struggle in terms of playing ability, support and resources. Of late they’ve been a classic yo-yo club between the top two flights. But given they’d never played in the Allsvenskan until 2007, this would suggest they’re on a slow upward trajectory.
Expectations in 2013: It’s all about survival – a cause not helped by the loss of keys players including Pablo Piñones Arce, Nabil Bahoui and Ludwig Augustinsson.
Players to watch: Former youth player Bojan Djordjic will offer a lot of experience and leadership to a young squad, having spent most of his career abroad including a stint at Manchester United. Gabriel Özkan and Niklas Bärkroth also return, offering some valuable top-flight experience.
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Nic Townsend
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