Place of birth Vitoria, Spain Name Aitor Karanka Position Defender 1991–1992 Athletic Bilbao Spouse Anna Karanka | Height 1.81 m Playing position Role Footballer Manages Middlesbrough F.C. | |
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Full name Aitor Karanka de la Hoz Date of birth (1973-09-18) 18 September 1973 (age 42) Team coached Middlesbrough F.C. (Manager, since 2013) Similar People Stewart Downing, Tony Mowbray, Steve McClaren, Fernando Morientes, Mark Venus | ||
Current team Middlesbrough (coach) | ||
Aitor karanka fulham pre match press conference
Aitor Karanka de la Hoz ( [aiˈtoɾ kaˈɾaŋka]; born 18 September 1973) is a former footballer who played mainly as a central defender (on occasion, he occupied the left back position), and a current manager.
Contents
- Aitor karanka fulham pre match press conference
- Aitor karanka confirms return to boro for kenneth omeruo
- Athletic Real Madrid
- Athletic return USA
- International
- Real Madrid
- Middlesbrough
- Personal life
- Managerial statistics
- Club
- Individual
- References
Save for a brief spell in the United States, at the age of 32, he played solely in Spain for Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, appearing in 275 La Liga games over the course of 13 seasons and winning a total of six honours with the latter.
In the late 2000s Karanka started a managerial career, notably working as an assistant at Real Madrid and in his own right at Middlesbrough.
Aitor karanka confirms return to boro for kenneth omeruo
Athletic / Real Madrid
Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Karanka played as a youth with hometown's Deportivo Alavés and finished his formation with Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao. He made his senior debuts with the reserves of the latter in 1992, competing with the team in Segunda División.
Karanka was promoted to the main squad by Jupp Heynckes in 1993, making his La Liga debut on 7 November in a 1–1 away draw against Celta de Vigo (90 minutes played) and going on to feature in exactly 100 league matches in his three full seasons, before joining the German coach at Real Madrid in 1997. With the capital team he was used mostly as a backup, but appeared in 33 UEFA Champions League games for the club, including the 1999–2000 final against Valencia CF (3–0 win); he also missed the vast majority of the 1998–99 campaign due to a heart condition.
Athletic return / USA
For 2002–03, Karanka returned to Athletic Bilbao. He helped the Lions qualify for the UEFA Cup in his second year, after a fifth place in the league.
Karanka switched to Major League Soccer and the Colorado Rapids in 2006. In his only season in the United States he helped his team to the Western Conference play-off final, despite having his attempt saved by Darío Sala in the penalty shootout victory over FC Dallas in the semi-finals.
International
Karanka only played once for Spain at senior level, on 26 April 1995 against Armenia for the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers, in Yerevan (2–0 win). He made 14 appearances for the under-21s, and was a member of the team that finished runners-up at the 1996 European Championship in a final lost to Italy.
Karanka also represented the nation in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, playing in four matches in an eventual quarter-final exit.
Real Madrid
In June 2010, Karanka was appointed assistant manager at former side Real Madrid, by newly appointed manager José Mourinho. Three years later he left the club following the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti, who brought his own coaching staff.
Middlesbrough
On 13 November 2013, Karanka was appointed manager of Football League Championship side Middlesbrough, replacing Tony Mowbray. His first game in charge ended in a 1–2 away defeat against Leeds United, ten days later.
On 25 April 2015, in the club's penultimate game of the season, Karanka sent goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos forward for an added-time corner kick, with the score 3–3 away to Fulham: with the goalkeeper out of position, the opponents scored a winner through Ross McCormack, which sent Watford into the Premier League and jeopardised Middlesbrough's own chances of promotion. He did qualify his team to the play-off final after a 5–1 aggregate win over Brentford, but they lost the decisive match 0–2 to Norwich City at Wembley Stadium.
On 7 August 2015, Karanka signed a new four-year contract. Boro were consistently in high positions during the campaign, but on 11 March 2016 he unexpectedly left the training ground after an argument and considered his future at the club; responsibilities for the subsequent match, at Charlton Athletic, were handed to his assistant Steve Agnew, but the Spaniard returned to lead the team to the top division after a seven-year absence, as runners-up.
In 2016–17, Karanka led Middlesbrough to the last eight of the FA Cup, where they were eliminated by Manchester City. He was sacked on 16 March 2017, with the team three points from top-flight safety and without a league win in the new year; while their defence was the fifth-best in the division, their attack was the worst with just 19 goals from 27 games, and he had disagreements with players, fans and the board; club and manager parted ways by mutual consent, as the latter believed he could take the team no further.
Personal life
Karanka's younger brother, David, was also a footballer. A striker, he also appeared for Athletic's first team but with much less impact, going on to spend the vast majority of his professional career in the second level or the lower leagues.