Wednesday 20 May 2015 17:17, UK
Aitor Karanka learned his trade from Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, but the Spaniard is now creating a case study of his own at Middlesbrough, writes Nick Wright.
Monday’s Championship play-off final against Norwich is worth an estimated £120m to the winner, and it could also provide Middlesbrough’s head coach with the opportunity to test his mettle against the man he describes as his “biggest influence”.
When Mourinho took the Real Madrid job in 2010, he set about finding an assistant who knew the club inside out, and having spent five years at the Bernabeu during his playing career, Karanka was the perfect fit.
“I thought he was joking,” Karanka told the Daily Mail of the moment Mourinho asked him to be his number two. But the Portuguese wasn’t messing around, and Karanka spent the next three years honing the coaching techniques and managerial methods which have served him so well in the very different surroundings of Teesside.
Teamwork
With Middlesbrough on the cusp of ending their six-year absence from the top flight, it is easy to forget just how far they have come in Karanka’s 18 months in charge.
The former defender inherited a stale side sitting just two points clear of the relegation zone when he took over from Tony Mowbray in November 2013. Karanka was new to management and new to English football, but he soon made his mark on the club.
“The thing I felt was that the players at that moment were just concerned about themselves,” he reflected in an interview with FIFA in January. “Now we are much better because everybody understands that the main thing is the team.”
Under Karanka, the team comes first. The Spaniard got his players fighting for each other and they soon began climbing the table. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a man who cut his teeth under Mourinho, their new-found togetherness was most apparent in their defensive improvement.
Boro went from conceding 1.6 goals per game under Mowbray to just 0.8 under Karanka, and that continued throughout his first full season in charge. Boro fell just short of automatic promotion, but their defensive record of 37 goals conceded was by far the best in the division and they kept a remarkable 21 clean sheets in total.
There have also been glimpses of Premier League pedigree. Boro famously stunned Manchester City with a 2-0 win at the Etihad in the FA Cup, and Liverpool needed penalties to knock them out of the Capital One Cup back in September.
When he was named Championship Manager of the Month for January, however, Karanka’s comments were telling. “It’s amazing for me to receive this award. But again it’s not just for me – I have staff and the players working behind me – it’s not just Manager of the Month, it’s a team award,” he said.
That selflessness will have come as no surprise to Mourinho. “As an assistant he was humble, honest, loyal and part of my staff with his soul and his heart,” the Chelsea manager told The Sun earlier this season.
“He certainly knows he needs to work hard every day, and especially he knows that in England. Whether it’s the Premier League or the Championship, the difference between success or not is just a matter of inches.”
Indeed, Karanka’s reign at Middlesbrough has been characterised by discipline and attention to detail of which Mourinho would be proud. “If you want to be successful, you have to be meticulous,” he said. “The big wins sometimes come from little details.”
Friendship
Karanka and Mourinho’s friendship has allowed Middlesbrough to take a string of loan signings from west London, of which Patrick Bamford has undoubtedly been the biggest success. The 21-year-old was named Championship Player of the Year after notching 17 league goals this season, and Mourinho made a personal check on the striker in Boro’s play-off semi-final first leg against Brentford.
Having worked under both managers, Bamford says the similarities are obvious. “Training is very similar and the big thing is the desire to win,” he said after Boro’s win at the Etihad.
"He doesn't miss out a thing and he is very rigorous with his approach to every single game, whether it is Manchester City or whoever else we might play. Even if it was a lower-league team in the cup, it would be the same approach. It is all about winning."
Bamford is an injury doubt to face Norwich, but Middlesbrough’s success has not been dependent on their Chelsea contingent and Karanka insists they can cope. He has recruited wisely in all areas of his squad and, as always, he is more concerned with the collective than any individual.
“I have always said this team is more than 11 players,” he said this week. “When everybody asked about Patrick Bamford’s injury I said we had Jelle (Vossen) and Kike (Garcia) and that they were very important for the team.”
The word “team” tends to feature prominently when Karanka opens his mouth, and Boro need one last collective push to get them back into Premier League. The 41-year-old needs no added incentive, but a reunion with Mourinho would be a fitting reward for a man who has thrived since going it solo.
Watch the Championship play-off final live on Sky Sports 1 HD live from 3pm on Monday
