Aitor Karanka will come up against his old mentor José
Mourinho when Middlesbrough travel to Manchester United on New Year’s Eve.
The Boro manager was Mourniho’s assistant for three years at
Real Madrid but this is the first time that they will have faced each other as
managers.
Karanka, who earned his first managerial job on Teesside
three years ago, admitted that he is looking forward to facing his old master
but said ‘for 90 minutes’ the pair must put their friendship to one side.
“The first game I looked for was the first game of the
season, because it was our debut back in the Premier League,” said the Spaniard.
“But the second one was Man United. It will be a special moment
for me and for my players.”
Karanka has always spoken extremely highly about Mourinho,
who was appointed at Old Trafford in the summer following his departure from
Chelsea.
“For me, I spent three amazing years with Jose at Real
Madrid and I learnt something from him every day. He is one of the best in the
world,” added Karanka
“But it’s football and the points are really important for
us. For those 90 minutes, you can’t be friends.”
Even so, the Boro boss will still share a drink with his old
friend after the match.
“We will share a glass of wine or beer after the game, but
no doubt one of us will be happier than the other.”
Team News
Boro defender Antonio Barragan will miss his first game of
the season after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against
Burnley.
That could mean a recall for George Friend who returned to
training a couple of weeks ago.
Viktor Fischer remains out with a knee injury, which the
Dane sustained before Christmas.
Wayne Rooney missed United’s victory over Sunderland on
Boxing Day and remains a doubt with a thigh injury.
Luke Shaw will also be absent, though Mourinho revealed that
the defender is "not far" away from a return.
The Opposition
United have clawed their way back into contention for a
Champions League spot after a run of five victories in a row.
Things didn’t go to plan for Mourinho earlier in the season,
after United lost the Manchester derby which was immediately followed by a
shock defeat to Watford.
A couple of weeks later, Mourniho was humbled by his former
side Chelsea, who trounced United 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.
However, Mourinho is too good a manager and United too many
good players to remain in a slump for the whole campaign.
Their switch to a 4-3-3 system, which has seen Michael
Carrick return in midfield, has yielded more from record signing Paul Pogba,
who has registered one goal and two assists in his last three games.
United have also tightened up their leaky defence, with Phil
Jones and Marcos Rojo forming an unlikely partnership at the back.
One To Watch
At 35, Ibrahimovic remains one of the hottest strikers in Europe
and his goal in the 3-1 victory over Sunderland on Boxing Day took his league
tally up to 12.
The potent Swede has scored four in his last three games
and, with players behind him beginning to click, he is bound to bag a lot more
this campaign.
Last Time Out
Manchester United 0
Middlesbrough 0 (1-3 on penalties) – 28/10/2016
Boro recorded a memorable upset when they visited Old
Trafford last year, as they knocked Louis van Gaal’s side out of the League
Cup.
Aitor Karanka’s men matched their hosts for 120 minutes before
the game went to penalties in front of 10,000 traveling Boro fans.
Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Ashley Young all missed,
sending Boro through to the quarter-finals.
No comments:
Post a Comment