Jose Mourinho used his brilliance and anger in Real Madrid’s 3-2 turnaround victory over Malaga at Copa del Rey, but it is Aitor Karanka, Mourinhos’s assistant who deserves the full credit in the dramatic Real Madrid win vs Malaga at Copa del Rey.
Madrid / NationalTurk – Defending Copa del Rey holders Real Madrid staged a dramatic second-half comeback to beat Malaga 3-2 on last Tuesday in the first leg of their Copa del Rey round-of-16 match at Santiago Bernabeu
Having found themselves 2-0 down at the break after a woeful first half performance, with Sergio Sanchez and Martin Demichelis having scored from set pieces for the visiting Malaga, coached by former Real Madrid manager Manuel Pellegrini, Real Madrid showed fighting spirit, tactical mastermind and teamwor. However the teamwork of Real madrid was not on the pitch, it was in and in front of Real Madrid bench, whereas the main actor was Aitor Karanka, the first year assistant of Jose Mourinho.
Real Madrid vs Malaga : A dramatic Copa del Rey game
Jose Mourinho brought Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira in for the second half, as Real Madrid really needed a boost to get fired up. “I told my players at half time that it was a shame that I couldn’t make 11 changes,” avowed Jose Mourinho the following day at a press conference. He put Lass Diarra at right back and the changes settled as he was rewarded as Benzema and Khedira both scored, along with Gonzalo Higuain, Diarra performed brilliantly pushing Real forward and gave Real Madrid a slender lead to take to Malaga next week for the return leg at Copa del Rey.
However the game included a dramatic effect more than the Malaga goals in the first half, Real Madrid’s fightback in the second and Karim Benzema outshining Ronaldo. Anger and frustration was apparent on Mourinho’s face with the start of the second half, as he was well aware he had to take action to fire his squad up. The substitutions were part of his plan while he used his anger as his secondary weapon to get his team going. The spanish regie showed Mourinho furiously engaging the 4th referee several times, and he had pushed limits even on his own standard. He pushed the limits really hard. This was the point where we all have witnessed the importance of a clever assistant coach.
Aitor Karanka : Superb Assistant Coaching saved the game for Real Madrid vs Malaga
Aitor Karanka emerged at those moments as a true x factor, to set the boundries between the game officials and Real Madrid manager. The 4th referee had enough with Mourinho’s constant complaints, which bordered on the line of as if having a personal beef with the officials, as he most possibly told game referee to send Mourinho to the stands while murmuring something via the intercom. Aitor Karanka build at that moment an invisible wall between Jose Mourinho and the referee, held Mourinho’s hand and forced him to sit back at the bench without saying anything.
Aitor Karanka and Rui Faria, Real’s fitness coach tried to intervene between Mourinho and referee the whole match. But It was Karanka who blocked Morinho from getting sent to the stands in the minutes following Real Madrid scored its first goal, as shown in the video.
[media id=484 width=610 height=340]Jose Mourinho was doing it all to fire his players up or perhaps out of sheer anger, but Real Madrid’s surge for victory against Malaga could end right at that moment when he would have been sent off by the officials. Karanka interfered, took initiative and saved the day for Real Madrid vs Malaga. A lesson in assistant coaching and an example what an assistant coach is capable of achieving. Good job Senor Karanka !
Quick info on Aitor Karanka :
Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, aitor 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 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.[1]
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 US Major League Soccer and the Colorado Rapids in 2006,[2] retiring shortly after.
In June 2010, Karanka was appointed assistant manager at former side Real Madrid, by newly appointed manager José Mourinho.
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Mourinho was doing that to get a red card so he can miss the classico and he would’t take bleme for the lost against barca and his excuse was going to be ” my team lost because I wasn’t present”. but unfortunately the ref didn’t send him off. Mourinho always do that, he did it a chelsea and inter milan.
I’m sorry but you guys made a huge mistake. It was not Aitor Karanka that held Mourinho’s hand and pulled him back. It was Rui Faria, the fitness coach.
We thank you for your message and attention. The video we put into the post shows that Aitor Karanka and Rui Faria, Real’s fitness coach, tried to intervene between Mourinho and referee the whole match. But It was Karanka who blocked Morinho from getting sent to the stands in the minutes following Real Madrid scored its first goal, as shown in the video.