How is ex-Middlesbrough and Birmingham City manager Aitor Karanka getting on these days? | OneFootball

FLW has been taking a look at what the former Boro and Blues manager has been doing in recent times.

Aitor Karanka had mixed success from his time as the head coach of Middlesbrough and Birmingham City respectively, enjoying Premier League promotion on Teesside whilst failing to complete a full season at St. Andrew's.

The Spanish coach spent three years working as José Mourinho's assistant at Real Madrid, before being handed his first managerial role in club football by Middlesbrough in November 2013.

After losing the Championship play-off final to Norwich City in his first full season as Boro head coach in 2014/15, Karanka guided his team to automatic promotion to the Premier League the following year.

He would be sacked from his position at the Riverside Stadium in March 2017, with the club ultimately suffering relegation from the top-flight come May. With a one-year spell at Nottingham Forest in-between, Karanka would be appointed as Birmingham City head coach in July 2020.

Come March 2021, however, the former Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Colorado Rapids defender was relieved of his duties with the Blues, after a run of three wins in 19 matches left the club flirting with the relegation zone in the Championship.

So, what is the 51-year-old up to these days? Football League World investigates...

Aitor Karanka is now the founder of a successful international football congress site

Whilst Karanka has still been in the management game since his Birmingham exit, he has only had brief spells with Granada and Maccabi Tel-Aviv - it's been his work away from the dugout that has been more prominent in recent years for the Spaniard.

First launched shortly after his departure from Birmingham City, Karanka began his first venture in the footballing world outside of coaching in May 2021, with the creation of his international football congress, AK Coaches' World.

The congress held its most recent conference in Granada between 7-8th June 2024, over the course of which a number of high profile names such as Fernando Llorente, Carlos Carvalhal, Joan Capdevila, Jordi Cruyff and Victor Orta all spoke on a variety of topics centered around football and sports law.

This latest conference was a successful follow-up from their previous one in May 2022, which saw names such as Ronald Koeman, Vicente del Bosque, Nuno Espírito Santo, Roberto Martinez and Ricardo Kaka all speak at that event.

Aitor Karanka has been establishing himself in the world of punditry

Away from planning and directing his congress events, Karanka has been sampling the world of punditry in recent times.

Predominantly appearing on Spanish broadcasts, the former Boro and Birmingham boss has been mostly seen covering La Liga with Spanish television channel, La Liga TV.

The Spaniard has made the odd appearance on our screens in the UK, however, with him appearing alongside Spanish compatriot Guillem Balague on ITV in September 2023, for their coverage of the Madrid Derby between Atlético and Real Madrid.

Karanka continues to work for UEFA

A position he took up during his time with Birmingham City, Karanka joined UEFA as a technical observer in February 2020, and has continued to do so ever since.

Karanka has been announced as being part of UEFA's team of technical observers for the 2024/25 Champions League campaign, alongside the likes of Rafa Benitez, David Moyes, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Gareth Southgate.

Their role will be to analyse the events of a game from a coaching perspective, gather video and data, as well as being tasked with selecting the player of the match for each game.

The ex-Middlesbrough manager performed this role at this summer's European Championships, and witnessed his Spanish side triumph over England in the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.