Last season Granada shocked Europe by making it to the quarter-finals of the Europa League during their first international campaign. This year they shocked Spain by suffering relegation on the final day of the season. It was Aitor Karanka who was in charge that day, but many thought that perhaps if he had been on the touchline sooner, Granada might have stayed up.
Next season, Karanka will have the chance to take them back to La Liga. It was announced on Tuesday evening that the former Real Madrid Assistant Manager would be continuing with Los Nazaries next season via the official website.
Cuando llegué, me disteis esta camiseta y me hicisteis sentir uno más. Estos son nuestros colores. Por eso, mi compromiso con vosotros sigue intacto. Seguimos. Todos juntos, como el primer día. 🔴⚪️ #VamosMiGranada #EternaLucha pic.twitter.com/LY0gsLg658
— Aitor Karanka (@Karanka) June 7, 2022
Karanka was clearly pleased with his contract and tweeted out a message to the support shortly after the announcement.
“When I arrived, you gave me this shirt and made me feel one of you. These are our colours. Therefore, my commitment to you remains intact. We continue. All together, like the first day.”
Karanka came into the job with just six matches to go and lost just once to Real Betis, winning twice and drawing the other three. It wasn’t sufficient to keep them up however, as a late missed penalty on the final day of the season condemned Granada to a 0-0 draw with Espanyol and relegation by one point.
The consensus was that Karanka did a good job in his short spell. His job next season will be a vastly different proposition and most likely with a vastly different squad at his disposal. He does however have experience of doing so, having won promotion with Middlesbrough in 2016.
