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Aitor Karanka suffers 'unfair' fate in first job since Birmingham City exit

The latest Birmingham City news as this former Blues head coach suffers heartbreak on the final day of the season

(Image: Getty Images)

Aitor Karanka’s first coaching job since his hugely underwhelming time at Birmingham City has ended in further disappointment. Karanka, who won just eight of his 38 matches in charge at Blues, returned to football with Spanish outfit Grenada just over a month ago.

The former Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough boss came into the job and had six games to save them from La Liga relegation, with the club poised in 17th – one place above the drop zone but level on points with Real Mallorca just below them.


He made a positive start, holding Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid to a 0-0 draw in his first game and after another 1-1 stalemate with Celta Vigo in his second, things appeared to take off for Karanka. Grenada smashed relegation rivals Mallorca 6-2 and then followed that up with a 1-0 win over his former club Athletic Bilbao.


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However, a 2-0 defeat to Real Betis in his fifth game meant Grenada’s status was taken to the final match – and on Sunday they were unable to beat Espanyol, drawing 0-0 with Jorge Molina missing a 72nd minute penalty that would have kept them in the league. Meanwhile Mallorca and Cadiz both won away from home to end Grenada’s three-year stay in Spain’s top flight.

Karanka was guarded when asked about his future, saying: "These are things that have to be thought about" and that "you cannot think too hard to make a decision. We have tried until the end and we almost succeeded. When you fight so hard and fall like this it's unfair. In a month the team has lost one game and has competed against almost everyone."

Karanka had success at Middlesbrough, guiding them to promotion to the Premier League – but leaving before their relegation was confirmed. He spent a year at Forest but left them in January 2019 with the club seventh in the Championship. His tenure at Blues never really got off the ground despite signing 15 senior players and he departed St Andrew’s in March 2021, with Blues only one place and three points above the drop zone.

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