Mallorca: The holiday island team bringing an international flavour to La Liga

Mallorca have not spent successive seasons in one division since 2016-17

The freshly-made pizza at Mallorca's Son Moix home is so good that players stick around after La Liga games to share a slice with those fans lucky enough to be seated in the club's VIP corner.

Baked at 800 degrees in a portable oven with ingredients ferried in from Napoli, Andy Kohlberg, the former tennis player and club's current president, calls it "literally the best pizza you'll ever have".

It is also a microcosm of the project at Mallorca, where international influences both on and off the pitch have helped the Balearics club return to La Liga this season after a turbulent few years.

Not since a 2016-17 campaign that ended with relegation to Spain's third tier have Los Bermellones spent successive campaigns in the same division.

In 2016 they were heavily in debt when they were bought by a group including Kohlberg and Robert Sarver, who co-own NBA side Phoenix Suns, and basketball legend Steve Nash. Former England international Graeme Le Saux is on the board and the goal now is to establish Mallorca in the top flight.

"It's an understatement to say it's been a rollercoaster," Kohlberg tells BBC Sport. "It's been a challenge, but we've worked through it.

"It's tough planning long term when you're not sure what division you're going to be in next year, but hopefully we've made some progress.

"We learned things along the way and the goal is obviously to establish ourselves in La Liga and be kind of a top-10 team."

Things have started well for the newly-promoted outfit, with a 1-0 win over Levante before the international break placing them 12th after eight games and closer on points to the top four than the drop zone.

Kohlberg is determined to forge a winning culture, focusing on the club's academy and development programme while improving the playing squad through smart acquisitions, though he leaves that side of the business to the "football experts".

"I bring a different perspective to it," he says, having spent 17 years with the Suns, who reached the NBA Finals last season.

"I know what top athletes' mentality is like and so I apply that knowledge to other sports. I bring that understanding that's a little bit different than either a typical business guy or a pure a football guy."

Mallorca's San Moix home, now called the Visit Mallorca Stadium

With La Liga now welcoming 100% attendances again and travel restrictions easing, fan engagement is also high on the agenda.

As well as great pizza, the Visit Mallorca Stadium boasts Spain's first "tunnel club" - including a one-way glass wall in the tunnel, press conference viewing room and VIP mini-stand.

When it was first unveiled, the club said it wanted to "give more attention to millennials and Generation Z while also having a crowd which is 50% women".

"The key is not to try to bring the whole American mentality," explains Kohlberg, who is attempting to balance such innovations with preserving traditional match-going experiences.

"We have a real clear strategy to address the interests of two types of fans - we have our core supporters, but we also have 13 million tourists come to the island every year.

"It's recognising and celebrating the culture of the island for those fans who have been coming for 20 years and preserving that experience for them, but also offering something different for people who are not from Mallorca."

Attracting global attention on the island's football club has been helped by the arrival of Japanese prospect Takefusa Kubo, back on loan from Real Madrid after also spending 2019-20 with Mallorca. There is also the willingness of La Liga to help promote games and schedule kick-off times suitable for an audience in Japan.

Mallorca produce their own content for the club's Japanese audience and merchandise is easily accessible, while in September they were the division's third-most watched club on YouTube behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.

It comes after signing another pair of talented 20-year-olds with international appeal this summer in American forward Matthew Hoppe from Schalke and South Korean Kang-in Lee, who left Valencia.

On paper it looks like great recruitment, but also a marketing dream.

"Well, first we make a football decision. Are they the right players, the right value, are they the right fit?" says Kohlberg.

"That's the predominant decision. The fact we might be able to benefit and do some similar things to what we did with Take in Japan, with Kang-in in Korea or with Matthew Hoppe in America is kind of the icing on the cake or a cherry on top. It's not the main driving force.

"It's certainly a secondary factor in our decision, but the primary decision is made by the football people about whether they're the right fit and what we're looking for."

Matthew Hoppe joined Mallorca from Schalke on transfer deadline day

Kohlberg believes the squad has a productive blend of youth and experience and, in coach Luis Garcia, there is someone willing to place trust in youngsters to maintain the club's identity.

"They're open to playing young players if they're good enough," new arrival Hoppe tells BBC Sport. "They're willing to give them a chance and bet on them, help them progress and take their game to the next level.

"Training is really intense, the ball movement is really quick - one, two touch, different than it was in Germany. It's a lot faster.

"He's a coach who likes to keep the ball, likes to dominate the game and comes up with a plan with the forwards. Sometimes he wants us to run in behind to exploit the spaces or exploit certain defenders or check in for the ball."

Hoppe has also learned Garcia is "huge on your body fat percentage", making sure his players are in the best condition - which means more pizza for the locals.

"It's a completely different culture than Germany," adds the USA international. "It's a great place to be, with amazing food and an amazing island.

"It's definitely one of the best places in the world to play football."

• NFL This Week: Watch all the highlights including NFL's return to London

• Oasis at Knebworth: Was this the crowning moment in Britpop history?