Aitor Karanka

Aitor Karanka

Karanka training with Athletic Bilbao
Personal information
Full name	Aitor Karanka de la Hoz
Date of birth	September 18, 1973 (1973-09-18)
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)
National team
1993–1996	Spain U21	14	(0)
1996	Spain U23	4	(0)
1995	Spain	1	(0)
1994–2004	Euskadi XI	6	(0)
Teams managed
2008–2010	Spain U15
2010–	Real Madrid (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Karanka and the second or maternal family name is De la Hoz.

Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (born 18 September 1973) is a retired Spanish footballer who played mainly as a central defender (on occasion, he occupied the left back position).

Except for a brief spell in the United States, at the age of 32, he played solely for Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid, appearing in 275 La Liga games over the course of 13 seasons, winning a total of seven major titles with the latter.

Club career

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, spending almost two seasons with the team in the second division. Along with Julen Guerrero, he was a member of Athletic's U-19 team that won a national cup and league double in 1992.

Karanka was promoted to the main squad by Jupp Heynckes in 1993, making his La Liga debut on 15 September, playing the 90 minutes in a 3–1 home win against UD Las Palmas, 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.

In the 2002–03 season, Karanka returned to Athletic Bilbao, helping the Basque qualify for the UEFA Cup in his second year, after a fifth place in the league. He switched to Major League Soccer and the Colorado Rapids in 2006, retiring shortly after.

In June 2010, Karanka was appointed assistant manager at former side Real Madrid, by newly appointed manager José Mourinho.

International career

Karanka only played once at senior level, on 26 April 1995 against Armenia, in an UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier in Yerevan (2–0 win). He played 14 games for Spain's U-21 and was a member of the team that were 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 quarterfinal exit. Between 1994 and 2004, he appeared six times for the Basque Country national football team.

Honours

• Real Madrid:
  • UEFA Champions League: 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02
  • Spanish League: 2000–01
  • Intercontinental Cup: 1998
  • Spanish Supercup: 1997, 2001

• Spain:
  • UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship: Runner-up 1996

Personal

Karanka's younger brother, David, is also a footballer. A striker, he also appeared for Bilbao's first team, but only collected eight appearances in the league (one goal), going on to spend his professional career in the second and third divisions.

External links

• Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Athletic Bilbao profile
• European competition stats
• MLS stats