Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (Basque and Spanish pronunciation:[ajˈtoɾkaˈɾaŋka]; born 18 September 1973) is a Spanish football manager and former player.
Save for a brief spell in the United States at age 32, Karanka played solely in Spain for Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, appearing in 275 La Liga matches over 13 seasons and winning six honours with the latter. He earned one cap for Spain, in 1995.
Karanka was promoted to the main squad by Jupp Heynckes in 1993 following the departure of Rafael Alkorta. He made his La Liga debut on 7 November in a 1–1 away draw against Celta Vigo (90 minutes played),[5] going on to feature in exactly 100 league matches in his three full seasons before joining the German coach at Real Madrid in 1997 (replacing Alkorta, who had just rejoined Athletic Bilbao).[6][7]
For 2002–03, Karanka returned to Athletic Bilbao on a three-year contract with a €40 million buyout clause.[11] He helped the Lionsqualify for the UEFA Cup in his second year after finishing in fifth place in the league.
In June 2010, Karanka was appointed assistant manager at former side Real Madrid by newly appointed manager José Mourinho.[17] Three years later, he left the club following the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti, who brought his own coaching staff.[18]
On 7 August 2015, Karanka signed a new four-year contract.[24] 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,[25] but the Spaniard returned to lead the team to the top division after a seven-year absence, as league runners-up.[26]
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 matches, and he had disagreements with players, fans and the board).[27] Club and manager parted ways by mutual consent, as the latter believed he could take the team no further.[28]
Nottingham Forest
On 8 January 2018, Karanka returned to the Championship after being appointed as manager of Nottingham Forest.[29] He replaced Gary Brazil, who had been acting as caretaker manager following the dismissal of Mark Warburton on 31 December 2017, who had in turn left the side sitting 14th in the league.[30] His first match in charge saw Forest suffer a 1–0 defeat to Aston Villa, just days after his appointment.[31] Karanka met his former club Middlesbrough for the first time on 7 April, where Forest were defeated 2–0.[32]
During his first summer transfer window in charge, prior to his first full season as manager, Forest signed João Carvalho from Benfica for £13.2 million, the club's most expensive transfer acquisition.[33][34] Forest began the season very well, which originally saw them establish a five-match undefeated run.[35] They continued their positive form up until December,[36] where they only won one out of six matches during the final month of the year, which would ultimately cost Karanka his position.[37] On 11 January 2019, he departed the City Ground after requesting to be released from his contract. He left the team in seventh position, four points behind the play-off places.[38] A key reason behind Karanka's departure was the breakdown in relationship between him and Forest's Chief Executive, Ioannis Vrentzos. Forest's ambitious board were dissatisfied with Forest's play-off challenge and felt that the club should have been challenging for the automatic promotion places.[39]
Birmingham City
On 31 July 2020, after 18 months away from management, Karanka was appointed head coach of EFL Championship club Birmingham City on a three-year contract.[40] On 16 March 2021, the club confirmed that he had stepped down from his role after a run of just three wins in 19 matches left the team just outside the relegation zone. [41][42] Former Charlton Athletic manager Lee Bowyer was announced as his successor shortly afterwards.[43]
Following a 4–1 defeat at home to Levante on 17 April 2022, Granada dismissed interim head coach Rubén Torrecilla and appointed Karanka as his replacement, tasked with using the remaining six matches to avoid relegation from La Liga.[46] He made his debut on 20 April, securing a goalless draw at reigning champions Atlético Madrid,[47] and won two of the remaining fixtures, but a final-day draw against Espanyol was not enough to secure safety.[48]
Karanka was confirmed as the club's head coach for the coming season,[49] but was sacked on 8 November 2022, after one win in five matches.[50][51]
Karanka's younger brother, David, is also a former footballer. A striker, he also appeared for Athletic Bilbao'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.[54][55]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
^Carbajosa, Carlos E. (4 March 1998). "Karanka y su corazón dicen hasta pronto" [Karanka and his heart say see you later]. El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 December 2010.
^Cuenca, Nika (29 May 2002). "El mejor refuerzo" [The best addition] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 December 2012.
^Gallego, Jesús (27 April 1995). "Amavisca se estrena" [Amavisca gets his first]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 April 2013.
^"Italia ya ganó un Europeo a España en el 1996" [Italy have already won European Championships against Spain in 1996] (in Spanish). Orgullo Bianconero. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
