Aitor Karanka will be greeted by a hero’s welcome when he
makes his much anticipated appearance at the Riverside tomorrow afternoon, as he
embarks on his mission to rescue Boro’s fading season.
After 16 league games Boro sit 19th in the
Championship table on 16 points, half the points that they had accumulated at
this stage last year.
| Chairman Steve Gibson with his new manager Aitor Karanka |
Dating back to their relegation from the Premier League back
in 2008 Boro’s sinking fortunes have forced Chairman and local fan Steve Gibson
to adopt a new approach by appointing Boro’s first foreign manager in a bid to
return to England’s top flight .
His decision to appoint Karanka as Tony Mowbray’s successor
is no questionably a risk, but a calculated one at least. At 40 years of age
Karanka has learnt his traits at the very top making 93 appearances for Spanish
giants Real Madrid along with two spells at Athletic Bilbao.
His managerial career began in 2008, on the periphery of the
Spanish national team; taking charge of the Spain under 16 side for two years
embedding the foundations and philosophy of the Spanish game. Now look at them
five years down line.
That set Karanka up nicely for a new role back at Madrid as
Jose Mourinho’s assistant, a stand out on any CV. With the so called ”special
one” Karanka helped guide his former club to a La Liga title and their first
Copa Del Rey for eight years while also reaching two Champions League
semi-finals.
After three years as Mouirinho’s apprentice, like Steve
Clarke and Andre Villas-Boas, Karanka now prepares for a career of his own, but
will his apparent class and elegance be enough to hurl Boro back to the targeted
Premier League.
Many will view the current season as a diminishing lost
cause and that Karanka’s aim will be to rebuild a side ready to compete at the
right end of the Championship next campaign.
However Karanka has taken no time at all in stamping his own mark, he
may only have been in the job a fortnight but already reports claim the Spaniard
has introduced new high intensity training methods and has been working the
players harder than ever. Maybe the season isn’t lost after all.
With his new players Karanka looks set to establish a team
with a high tempo, determined to close players down and win the ball back quickly.
As a former defender Karanka should also be able to sort out some of Boro
defensive mishaps which have been a frequent setback this season.
Despite his opening match defeat away at Leeds; Karanka
claimed that he was happy with the efforts of the team and ticket sales for his
first home game have already passed the 17,500 mark, and the club still hope
they can surpass the 22,000 that were present for the 4-0 victory over
Doncaster earlier this season.
Karanka’s first game at the Riverside is against a Bolton
side who have won their last three away games, while Boro are without a win in their
last three, something Karanka will hope to put right tomorrow afternoon.
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