NBA Phoenix Suns co-Owner Andy Kohlberg, who bought Spanish second division side Real Mallorca in January, insisted that "lessons learned in the NBA are being put to work," according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN.com. Kohlberg, his long-term Suns business partner Robert Sarver and ex-Suns player Steve Nash spent €20M to take over Mallorca in January. Kohlberg said that NBA expertise "across areas from nutrition, to physical preparation, to marketing, was being leveraged." He said, "Our trainers from the Suns were in Mallorca a couple of weeks ago, while Mallorca's directors have been to Phoenix twice to understand how the franchise there is run." Kohlberg and Sarver "had been looking to get into European football for some time" and saw an opportunity in a club which won the Copa del Rey in '03, but had "more recently slipped down a division." Mallorca "has since been shaken up from top to bottom," with a new coach, new CEO, new sporting director and 16 new players coming in so far. Kohlberg, who is CEO of Kisco SeniorLiving, said that he has "learned when to step back at the Suns and let the experts do their jobs." Kohlberg: "A lot of owners think they know more than they do. I watch a tennis match from a tennis player's perspective, not a fan's perspective, as I played for a long time. We try and leave the decisions about players to people who really know it" (ESPN.com, 8/19).
