Aitor Karanka

Aitor Karanka
Karanka in 2009
Personal information
Full name Aitor Karanka de la Hoz[1]
Date of birth (1973-09-18) 18 September 1973 (age 51)[1]
Place of birth Vitoria, Spain[1]
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Corazonistas
Alavés
1991–1992 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1994 Athletic Club B 53 (2)
1993–1997 Athletic Bilbao 118 (2)
1997–2002 Real Madrid 93 (0)
2002–2006 Athletic Bilbao 64 (2)
2006 Colorado Rapids 28 (0)
Total 356 (6)
International career
1993–1996 Spain U21 14 (0)
1996 Spain U23 4 (0)
1995 Spain 1 (0)
1994–2004 Basque Country 6 (0)
Managerial career
2008–2010 Spain U16
2013–2017 Middlesbrough
2018–2019 Nottingham Forest
2020–2021 Birmingham City
2022 Granada
2023 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Spain
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Runner-up 1996 Spain
Bronze medal – third place 1994 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (Basque and Spanish pronunciation: [ajˈtoɾ kaˈɾaŋka]; 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 started his managerial career in the late 2000s, working as assistant manager at Real Madrid during José Mourinho's tenure as manager from 2010 to 2013.[2][3][4] He was appointed manager of EFL Championship club Middlesbrough in 2013, guiding them to promotion to the Premier League in 2016 before being dismissed the following year. He then managed Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City in the Championship, before brief top-flight spells at Granada in Spain and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League.

  1. ^ a b c d "Aitor KARANKA de la Hoz". El Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Butragueño: "Karanka representa los valores de la casa"" [Butragueño: "Karanka is what this place stands for"]. Marca (in Spanish). 7 June 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Cristiano Ronaldo is the best in the world, says Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka, after Barcelona win". The Daily Telegraph. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  4. ^ Delaney, Miguel (23 November 2012). "Karanka demanding focus from Real". ESPN FC. Retrieved 27 February 2022.