Aitor Karanka is clearly a fan of English football, not being put off by the way his Middlesbrough experience ended.
When it came to a new job after Middlesbrough, Karanka could have returned to Spain and probably would have received a good offer, but the lure of England has been too strong.
Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca, Karanka couldn’t hide how excited he is to be at Nottingham Forest. The manager taking over at the City Ground has also caused a little excitement in Spain, where Nottingham Forest are well regarded as a grand old club and the Championship is increasingly seen as an important league.
Marca believe Karanka turned down several first division offers, not mentioning from which country, before taking over at Nottingham Forest, so they asked him what was so attractive about the club: “Since leaving Middlesbrough I was clear that it should be a project that excited me. That experience had been so positive that I didn’t care about the category. The higher the better, but above all I wanted a project in which both the club and I could continue to progress. When I met the people of Forest and they transmitted their ambition to me, I had no doubts.”
Karanka was then asked: “Is it noticeable in the day to day running that Nottingham has two European Cups? ”
The manager replied: “Yes, I was lucky enough to live the European Cups, it’s obvious. The other day I had a talk with four European champions with Forest. Just to enter the box with the president and see them there, it’s impressive. I want to convey that to the players who are here and those who come: we are in a club with a lot of history and we have to give everything, not to put it at that level because to think about winning a Champions League and championship would be crazy, but knowing what being at this club demands.”
As well as being well known in Spain for winning two European Cups, Nottingham Forest are a familiar name due to Brian Clough’s personality. Marca asked Karanka how it feels to sit on the bench where the managerial legend once was: “I said it in my presentation. Four years ago I almost didn’t imagine that I could be a coach and now I’m sitting on the bench of Brian Clough. It’s incredible. The other day I had the opportunity to meet four players he trained and, it’s with like me, they ask me about Mourinho, because I was 45 minutes trying to know about him because he was ahead of his time.”
Karanka bringing the Manchester United manager into the conversation naturally led to a quesiton about any similarities between Clough and Mourinho: “Yes. The other day I asked ex-players if Clough was like Mourinho. The four of them looked at me badly and replied: “No, in any case Mourinho will resemble Clough”. They are characters, so it seems, very similar, very sure of themselves. Mou won the Champions league with two clubs that had not won as much, Porto and Inter, and Clough made Nottingham European champion twice.”
Marca then went on to talk about the cup upset against Arsenal, reminding Karanka he beat both Manchester clubs in cup competitions with Middlesbrough, and somehow the Nottingham Forest manager again managed to mention the European Cups: “We’re going to try it. Now we face Hull, also in the Championship, at home, and try to get over that we’re not going to be distracted by any cup competition. These players and all of us have to defend this crest and the two stars that are carried on the chest for the two European Cups that were won.”
Karanka’s father trained Ernesto Valverde when the now Barcelona manager was a player, and the two have seen their careers meet since, staying in touch. Marca asked about the relationship: “Ernesto coincided with my father in San Ignacio when I was a kid, then I was lucky to play with him as a teammate and, after I don’t know how many years, he was my coach. I am happy that Ernesto continues to do so well everywhere. As a friend it is a joy.”
Valverde used to manage Olympiacos, owned by the same group as Nottingham Forest, so Karanka was asked if the two man talked about the job offer from the Championship club: “Yes, because he had a relationship with the owners and I wanted to know his impression. It was one of the many reasons why I decided to make this decision. All the words of Ernesto about the club, the owners… it encouraged me a lot.”
Unfortunately, Marca didn’t ask Karanka if he’s planning to get any Barcelona players on loan.
