Aitor Karanka
Karanka in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aitor Karanka de la Hoz | ||
| Date of birth | 18 September 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Vitoria, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Corazonistas | |||
| Alavés | |||
| 1991–1992 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1994 | Bilbao Athletic | 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) | |
| National team | |||
| 1993–1996 | Spain U21 | 14 | (0) |
| 1996 | Spain U23 | 4 | (0) |
| 1995 | Spain | 1 | (0) |
| 1994–2004 | Basque Country | 6 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2008–2010 | Spain U16 | ||
| 2010–2013 | Real Madrid (assistant) | ||
| 2013–2017 | Middlesbrough | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (Basque and Spanish pronunciation: [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.
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 seven major titles 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.
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.
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