despite having his attempt saved by Darío Sala in the penalty shootout victory over FC Dallas in the semi-finals. International Karanka only played once for Spain at senior level, on 26 April 1995 against Armenia in Yerevan (2–0 win) for the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers. He made 14 appearances for the under-21s and was a member of the team that finished runners-up at the 1996 European Championship in a final lost to Italy. Karanka also represented the nation in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, playing in four matches in an eventual quarter-final exit. Coaching career Karanka's first role in management was with the Spanish under-16s national team. In June 2010, Karanka was appointed assistant manager at former side Real Madrid by newly appointed manager José Mourinho. Three years later, he left the club following the arrival of Carlo Ancelotti, who brought his own coaching staff. Middlesbrough On 13 November 2013, Karanka was appointed manager of Championship club Middlesbrough, replacing Tony Mowbray. His first match in charge ended in a 1–2 away defeat against Leeds United, ten days later. On 25 April 2015, in the club's penultimate game of the season away to Fulham, Karanka sent goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos forward for an added-time corner kick with the score 3–3. With the goalkeeper out of position, the opponents scored a winner through Ross McCormack, which sent Watford into the Premier League and jeopardised Middlesbrough's own chances of promotion. He did qualify his team to the play-off final after a 5–1 aggregate win over Brentford, but they lost the decisive match 0–2 to Norwich City at Wembley Stadium. On 7 August 2015, Karanka signed a new four-year contract. Boro were consistently in high positions during the campaign, but on 11 March 2016 he unexpectedly left the training ground after an argument and considered his future at the club. Responsibilities for the subsequent match, at Charlton Athletic, were handed to his assistant Steve Agnew, but the Spaniard returned to lead the team to the top division after a seven-year absence, as league runners-up. In 2016–17, Karanka led Middlesbrough to the last eight of the FA Cup, where they were eliminated by Manchester City. He was sacked on 16 March 2017 with the team three points from top-flight safety and without a league win in the new year (while their defence was the fifth best in the division, their attack was the worst with