Mallorca: The holiday island team heading for a Copa del Rey final
- Published
Mallorca beat Real Sociedad on penalties to reach the Copa del Rey final
A version of this article was first published in October 2021.
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.
It is baked at 800 degrees in a portable oven with ingredients ferried in from Naples, and Andy Kohlberg - the former tennis player and current club president - calls it "literally the best pizza you'll ever have".
At Mallorca, international influences both on and off the pitch have helped the Balearics club establish themselves in La Liga after a turbulent few years.
They are also now on the brink of Copa del Rey success for only the second time in their history, following a Samuel Eto'o-inspired triumph in 2003.
After a run that included triumphs over Girona and Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao stand in Los Bermellones' way in Saturday's final in Seville.
Up to 20,000 fans are expected to make the trip from the island, with many more watching on the giant screen erected in Palma's Placa de la Reina.
"As a Mallorcan, it's a dream," said forward and cult hero Abdon Prats. "We are a club to be proud of, one that has been reborn after eight years."
In 2016 Mallorca were heavily in debt when they were bought by a group including Kohlberg and Robert Sarver - who co-owned NBA side Phoenix Suns until Sarver was suspended and fined after an NBA investigation into claims of racism and misogyny in 2022 - as well as basketball legend Steve Nash.
That season ended with relegation to Spain's third tier, and since then Mallorca have climbed back to the top flight, been relegated and then promoted again in 2020-21.
With former England defender Graeme le Saux also on the board, Mallorca are now enjoying their third successive season in the Spanish top flight.
"It's an understatement to say it's been a rollercoaster," Kohlberg, who has since bought out Sarver's shares, told 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."
Last season they achieved that, finishing ninth, although Javier Aguirre's side are currently 15th in the table.
Kohlberg wanted 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 said, having spent 17 years with the Suns.
"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."
The club have recently completed a £25m renovation of the Mallorca Son Moix Stadium that has removed the athletics track, increased capacity to more than 26,000 and placed a focus on sustainability.
As well as great pizza, it also 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 over the past few seasons by international signings.
When Japan star Takefusa Kubo, now at Real Sociedad, was on loan there in 2021-22, Mallorca would produce their own content for the club's Japanese audience - they were the division's third-most watched club on YouTube, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.
There was similar appeal for South Korea forward Kang-in Lee, who has since moved to Paris St-Germain, while this season Canada striker Cyle Larin has spearheaded Mallorca's cup run.
"Well, first we make a football decision. Are they the right players, the right value, are they the right fit?" explained Kohlberg.
"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."
Now the islanders have found another way to put themselves on the footballing map. Win in Seville on Saturday and all eyes will be on a club reborn.
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