With Real Mallorca Promoted To La Liga, Stu Holden Talks Preparing Club To Compete On Global Stage

That's what Fox Sports and Turner Sports soccer analyst Stu Holden said in December when asked about whether he dreams about Spanish soccer club Real Mallorca— of which he's a minority stakeholder alongside his best friend Steve Nash as part of a group led by Phoenix Suns managing partners Robert Sarver and Andy Kohlberg— moving up from Spain's second division to the prestigious La Liga. Just under a month ago, those dreams became a reality.

Reached via phone last week while vacationing on the Spanish island of Ibiza— 45 minutes from the island of Mallorca— Holden discussed the joy of Mallorca's promotion, preparing the club for its move to one of the top leagues in the world and how he's helping build the team's global brand.

After moving up to the Segunda Division in 2017-2018 from third-tier Segunda B, Mallorca finished fifth in the regular season standings, which meant they advanced to a four-team playoff to determine the third team that would earn promotion to La Liga for the first time since 2012-2013. After defeating Albacete in the two-legged semifinal, Mallorca faced Deportivo La Coruna. After losing the first leg on the road 2-0, Mallorca triumphantly rallied to win the second leg on June 23 at home 3-0 to advance.

With Holden calling Gold Cup games for Fox and Nash expecting the birth of his fifth child, they organized a big watch party for family and friends in the South Bay area of Los Angeles.

“It was amazing," Holden said. "We just kinda had a feeling within 30 minutes. Steve and I were watching the way the game was unfolding.”

Mallorca got a first half goal from Ante Budimir, a 27-year-old Croatian center-forward the team signed halfway through the season on loan from Italian second division club FC Crotone.

“Basically when we realized halfway through the season and we had a chance of getting up,” Holden said, so he helped the team's management and board of directors find players they could sign to try to make a run at one of the four playoff berths. This month, Mallorca bought the last year of Budumir’s contract for a transfer fee of just under $2.5 million, according to football database Transfermarkt, keeping him aboard for La Liga.

The watch party erupted, Holden said, after the second goal in the 62nd minute tied the aggregate up. The third and deciding goal was scored with eight minutes left by Abdon Prats, a 26-year-old center-forward from the area who came through the club's academy.

"It’s just an incredible story," Holden said. "He scored this third goal that was sensational and Steve in his normal fashion that he did when Tottenham scored that winning goal in the Champions League [semifinals], he just ran out of the bar straight around the block and started doing laps around the bar. Nobody saw him and then he realized ‘oh shit, there’s still another five minutes left.’”

Mallorca emerged victorious and the champagne was flowing.

Sarver, Kohlberg and other team officials were at the final along with tennis legend Rafael Nadal, who's from Mallorca and is a longtime supporter.

“It was a non-stop party in Mallorca for probably 48 hours," Holden said.

There were ceremonies, a parade and a huge celebration. But then, it was time to get to work. From the final, Holden, Nash and the technical and ownership side have less than two months to put together a squad that can stay in the top 17 of La Liga to avoid relegation back to the Segunda Division. Mallorca's La Liga season kicks off on Aug. 19 with a home match against Eibar.

The ownership group always kept two contingencies together for the team. either remaining in Segunda Division or going up to La Liga. Now it was time for the Mallorca group to execute the plan it’s been waiting to implement for so long. 

A couple of weeks ago, the group flew out the team’s CEO, CFO, technical director and sporting director to Los Angeles for two days of meetings, “plowing full steam ahead now for next year.” That included a trip to see Major League Soccer club LAFC take on the Vancouver Whitecaps on July 6 to try to develop strategic partnerships with MLS clubs.

Holden estimated that Mallorca already signed at least six players, now seven according to Transfermarkt. Two of those moves would've happened with either contingency, he said. 

“We’re pretty far along that process and thankfully we got ahead of it," Holden said, adding that it's better to plan ahead rather than have to make panic signings. "and [we] hoped that if all had gone well that we were able to execute on a lot of the deals."

Nash sits on the board of directors, which is headed by Kohlberg and includes NBC Sports soccer analyst Graeme Le Saux. Holden said he and Nash speak daily about the team and trade a ton of emails. While Holden said he’s also getting phone calls every day from people asking if he’s looked at a certain player, a lot of the scouting and finding players for the upcoming season fall on its sporting director Javier Recio and CEO Maheta Molango. Recio had already identified a list of players and was talking with player agents.

“Pretty much as soon as we were promoted, it was within days that he was pushing forward on deals," Holden said of Recio. "He set the budget for next year and we have a good idea of how much money we’re going to have and how much we’re going to allocate towards salary and starting to plug and play."

An issue with any promoted club is finding the balance between bringing in new players to help a team like Mallorca compete and stay up at a higher level while also figuring out what to do with the pre-existing players that helped them earn that promotion. That's been an ongoing conversation within the ownership group, Holden said.

"Most of that comes from our coach and our sporting director," Holden said. "They work together and we piece together the roster that we feel can compete."

Getting to La Liga is amazing, but staying there is an arduous task.

"This is what we’ve all been dreaming about," Holden said, "but you don’t want to be relegated again next season.”

When Holden played for English club Bolton Wanderers, his team was relegated from the Premier League in 2012 and Bolton hasn't been back up since. Last season, the team was in financial distress and were relegated to the third division EFL League One. That's why it was so important for Holden and Nash to not only find players who aligned with the club's core values that the pair helped instill, but also for Mallorca to remain a spending club while fitting within their budget.

"Something that Steve and I have been really big on from the beginning is what it means to play for our club and the values that have been instilled by our manager," Holden said, referring to Vicente Moreno, who led the team from Segunda B to La Liga in two years and reportedly received a contract extension. "And we feel that that’s really going to give us an edge as far as finding players.”

One of those key players, Holden said, 28-year-old Ivorian left wing Lago Junior, who they gave a big contract after he helped take the team up from Segunda B.

“Guys like that who have stayed with this team throughout because we spent the money," Holden said. "We think about that, and that’s why when we got up to La Liga, it’s the same mission. How do we spend in a way that’s smart but in a way that’s still going to make us competitive and that we’re not just going to be in this dogfight the entire season and that we want to ensure that we find our way through.”

With plans now firmly in place to help Mallorca stabilize itself in La Liga, part of Holden's job is to now help grow the club's global profile.

“I’ve gotten so many messages from people, whether on Instagram or emails, ‘how do we buy Mallorca shirts?’ and people telling me they couldn’t buy them in the U.S.," Holden said. "This is going to be a market now that people are going to be aware of this club even moreso than Stu Holden and Steve Nash are part-owners. It’s now we’re going to see Mallorca play Real Madrid and Barcelona and you’re going to see them playing against these big clubs, so how do we continue to push that in the right way that still aligns with what we want this club to look like.”

The Suns part of the Sarver-Kohlberg group has helped Mallorca market itself to a wider and younger audience through social media, and Holden said that Mallorca was the 7th-most interacted with team in Spanish football last season, including all 20 La Liga clubs.

“We’ve done a good job of being in the conversation and trying to grow the profile of the club," Holden said.

Another goal of Holden's is to find at least one American player to join the club. And while he'd be very happy to welcome Christian Pulisic if he wanted to join Mallorca, it would most likely occur with a young player who's willing to join the club's academy.

Holden's dream of owning a team in La Liga has now become a reality. He and Nash are already planning trips to Spain to watch Mallorca host Real Madrid on Oct. 20 and Barcelona on March 15, 2020. Both can't wait to see how the club grows next.

"If you talk about the conversations we were having two years ago versus now in La Liga, it’s night and day," Holden said. "It feels like you’re sitting at the big kids’ table. While we’re probably still a small kid sitting at the big kids’ table, it’s fun to be in that conversation and hopefully as we can grow up and continue to learn in this league and get everything together. I’m very bullish on the outlook of the club.”

Source: Forbes.com

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