SpurMeUp
Les Howe
THEY kicked each other for a decade in La Liga, sharing tough games and dodgy barnets along the way.
Aitor Karanka and Mauricio Pochettino then spent time together in the classroom, forging a genuine bond.
REUTERS
5
Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka won the Champions League three times with Real Madrid
GETTY IMAGES
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Mauricio Pochettino played 10 seasons with Espanyol and later managed the club
Now at the Riverside today, they send their forces into action against each other for the first time.
Middlesbrough manager Karanka said: “I’m looking forward to seeing him.
“But after the ref blows the whistle, we are not friends — just for 90 minutes.”
In a sense, it is back to where it all started. Then they were two centre-halves, both at the peak of their powers.
They first tackled each other in 1994, with Karanka scoring a rare goal — the first of only four in his career — for Athletic Bilbao in a 3-1 defeat to a long-haired Pochettino’s Espanyol.
And their final clash ten years later saw Poch, then in his second stint with Espanyol, put one into his own net.
Yet his side again beat Bilbao, who Karanka rejoined after five years at Real Madrid.
The duo would go from rivals to class-mates in 2007, when they did their coaching badges together in Madrid and became pals. But they were soon competing against each other again as Pochettino returned to Espanyol to be a boss in 2009, a year before Karanka went back to Real as No 2 to Jose Mourinho.
The Argentinian and Spaniard even made the move to England in the same year, with Poch taking the Southampton reins in January 2013, just ten months before Karanka was installed at then-Championship Boro.
Karanka, 43, recalled: “We did our course together and we have a really good relationship.
“I also remember playing a lot against each other and he was a really good and typical Argentinian central defender.
“He was really successful in Spain and now he’s really successful as a coach. His character and his knowledge about football is very good.
“Last season he was in the battle for the title and this season I think he is again, because they have improved their squad.”
REUTERS
5
Karanka revealed the pair became friends after doing a coaching course together
Poch added: “We have a very good relationship. He was a centre-back and I was too. He was a very good player.
“I think after two years they got promotion to the Prem which is a fantastic job.”
Spurs go into the match still unbeaten in the league while Karanka, brought up on winning as a player, accepts it will be tough for Boro in the big time again. But he added: “I never like to lose.
“I don’t want to go to this game and say, ‘It’s OK because it was Tottenham’. I want to win.
“When I went home every day this week, I’ve thought about our last defeat to Everton. When I analysed the game, I saw the mistakes. It’s my job to correct them.”
Spurs announced yesterday right-back Kyle Walker, 26, is the latest star to sign a new contract after agreeing to stay until 2021.
He follows on from Christian Eriksen, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Danny Rose and Mousa Dembele — with Jan Vertonghen set to be next.
PA
RESS ASSOCIATION
5
Pochettino revealed his ultimate target was to win the Premier League
Poch, 44, added: “The message is to win titles and show commitment and they are happy to be part of this project.
“That is the big message from them all. Always it is important to have stability and the players show their commitment to achieve big things.
“We need to provide the key players with a solid project and not need to convince them.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/foot...ead-to-head-after-10-years-clashing-in-spain/
Aitor Karanka and Mauricio Pochettino then spent time together in the classroom, forging a genuine bond.
REUTERS
5
Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka won the Champions League three times with Real Madrid
GETTY IMAGES
5
Mauricio Pochettino played 10 seasons with Espanyol and later managed the club
Now at the Riverside today, they send their forces into action against each other for the first time.
Middlesbrough manager Karanka said: “I’m looking forward to seeing him.
“But after the ref blows the whistle, we are not friends — just for 90 minutes.”
In a sense, it is back to where it all started. Then they were two centre-halves, both at the peak of their powers.
They first tackled each other in 1994, with Karanka scoring a rare goal — the first of only four in his career — for Athletic Bilbao in a 3-1 defeat to a long-haired Pochettino’s Espanyol.
And their final clash ten years later saw Poch, then in his second stint with Espanyol, put one into his own net.
Yet his side again beat Bilbao, who Karanka rejoined after five years at Real Madrid.
The duo would go from rivals to class-mates in 2007, when they did their coaching badges together in Madrid and became pals. But they were soon competing against each other again as Pochettino returned to Espanyol to be a boss in 2009, a year before Karanka went back to Real as No 2 to Jose Mourinho.
The Argentinian and Spaniard even made the move to England in the same year, with Poch taking the Southampton reins in January 2013, just ten months before Karanka was installed at then-Championship Boro.
Karanka, 43, recalled: “We did our course together and we have a really good relationship.
“I also remember playing a lot against each other and he was a really good and typical Argentinian central defender.
“He was really successful in Spain and now he’s really successful as a coach. His character and his knowledge about football is very good.
“Last season he was in the battle for the title and this season I think he is again, because they have improved their squad.”
REUTERS
5
Karanka revealed the pair became friends after doing a coaching course together
Poch added: “We have a very good relationship. He was a centre-back and I was too. He was a very good player.
“I think after two years they got promotion to the Prem which is a fantastic job.”
Spurs go into the match still unbeaten in the league while Karanka, brought up on winning as a player, accepts it will be tough for Boro in the big time again. But he added: “I never like to lose.
“I don’t want to go to this game and say, ‘It’s OK because it was Tottenham’. I want to win.
“When I went home every day this week, I’ve thought about our last defeat to Everton. When I analysed the game, I saw the mistakes. It’s my job to correct them.”
Spurs announced yesterday right-back Kyle Walker, 26, is the latest star to sign a new contract after agreeing to stay until 2021.
He follows on from Christian Eriksen, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Danny Rose and Mousa Dembele — with Jan Vertonghen set to be next.
PA
RESS ASSOCIATION5
Pochettino revealed his ultimate target was to win the Premier League
Poch, 44, added: “The message is to win titles and show commitment and they are happy to be part of this project.
“That is the big message from them all. Always it is important to have stability and the players show their commitment to achieve big things.
“We need to provide the key players with a solid project and not need to convince them.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/foot...ead-to-head-after-10-years-clashing-in-spain/
