Two-and-a-half weeks before his 19th birthday, Achraf Hakimi made his debut in the most celebrated competition in club football, the Uefa Champions League.
He was picked at right-back for Real Madrid, promoted from the club’s academy, and presented with a daunting task. The opposition were Tottenham Hotspur, which meant tussles with Harry Kane, and, going forward, facing the combative Jan Vertonghen.
These were tough duels, though not intimidating ones for the teenager. Early in the 1-1 draw, Hakimi eked out space for a cross that Cristiano Ronaldo headed against the Spurs post.
He was widely praised for his performance and for his showing in the games that followed until the experienced Dani Carvajal returned from injury as Madrid’s first-choice right-back.
Less than a month before Hakimi’s European premiere, meanwhile, Liverpool gave a Champions League debut, in Moscow, to a prospect named Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He was 11 days shy of his 19th birthday. He also impressed for the club he had grown up at. In his next fixture, against Maribor, Alexander-Arnold scored his first Champions League goal.
In those autumn weeks, it turned out, two brilliant, parallel careers were being almost simultaneously launched. That season, 2017/18, ended with Madrid beating Liverpool in the Champions League final, although Hakimi would receive his winners’ medal later, still deemed a little too junior to make the matchday squad for the Kiev showpiece.
Alexander-Arnold played the full 90 minutes for a Liverpool let down by their goalkeeper Loris Karius, whose anxiety to play out quickly from the back gave away a careless goal and reminded that, in teams where defenders are urged to push high up the field, the keeper can be left feeling very exposed.
But in the modern game, that’s the fashion: Modern full-backs are taught to turn their minds to attack as soon as their goalkeeper is in possession. And very few elite full-backs have learned to master those requirements as brilliantly as Morocco’s Hakimi and England’s Alexander-Arnold.
On Wednesday evening in Paris, they will share a pitch for the first time, two 26-year-olds who are heroes for their respective clubs, Hakimi at Paris Saint-Germain, Alexander-Arnold still of Liverpool, and role models for tens of thousands of aspiring right-backs who have grown up regarding a position once considered the game’s least glamorous as a position that carries endless possibilities for flair and expression.
Look only at the creative numbers, Achraf and Trent – fans call them by their first names – bring into Wednesday’s first leg of PSG-Liverpool. It is the Morocco captain’s 58th Champions League match.
In that time, he has accumulated a dozen direct assists. Statistically, Alexander-Arnold is his twin: 12 assists from his 58 games so far in the competition. Hakimi is ahead on goals, with six to Alexander-Arnold’s two.
In their domestic leagues, both feature in the top 10 of assist providers for the current season. This, remember, from players designated as defenders and, through their early 20s, footballers who have had to develop thick skins against criticism that the swashbuckling, attacking part of their game comes at the expense of proper attention to space left vacant behind their backs.
It is a difficult balance. To be as bold as they are needs the confidence of a brave coach. The former Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp, who first brought Alexander-Arnold into the senior team, says he still feels exasperated, eight months after having departed Liverpool, at hearing pundits bemoan the player’s lapses in defence: “They [the critics] still don’t understand it,” Klopp said in January. “If they would make the same fuss about him when he does play well as when he doesn’t, that would be a really cool planet [to be on].”
The PSG manager, Luis Enrique, has described Hakimi as the “best right-back in the world.” That means a right-back who wants to command the entire right flank and, going forward, the inside right channels too. He likes it that “when Donnarumma [the PSG goalkeeper] has the ball, Achraf plays as an attacker, a winger and if he was any further forward he’d be in the crowd!”
No coincidence that the form marksmen coming into Wednesday’s tie are Mohamed Salah, most effective coming off a Liverpool right wing where, for the last seven years, Alexander-Arnold has been his best ally; and Ousmane Dembele, whose understanding with Hakimi on the right for PSG has been a forte under Luis Enrique.
“My obsession is to attack,” Luis Enrique says of his approach. “But also that every player knows how and when to defend. I think Achraf Hakimi has adapted perfectly to the characteristics of this team.
“On a human level, he’s open, with a strong personality and has real status in his national team. He’s a leader. I can lead with what I say, but it’s on the pitch and in practice that you see who the true leaders are.”
Experience makes a leader and Hakimi has gathered it hungrily through his career. He played his first senior matches with Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos among his teammates.
He went on to provide crosses, while at Borussia Dortmund, for Erling Haaland and, at Inter Milan, for Romelu Lukaku.
In his time at PSG he has counted Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as colleagues. The eager market for his myriad talents meant that by the time Hakimi was 22, he had already played Champions League football for three clubs that have won European Cups and collected major domestic prizes in Spain, Germany and Italy.
By 24, he had added the first of his three French league titles at PSG and reached a World Cup semi-final with Morocco.
Alexander-Arnold’s path has been straighter. Liverpool, so far, have been his only employer, although with his current contract up for renewal in July and no signature yet on any extension, the growing expectation is that his progressive football, his precision passing, his mastery at delivering set-pieces, will become assets in the service of another club next season.
The leading suitors? Real Madrid, where there’s always been an eagerness for full-backs who think like wingers or playmakers. The same Real Madrid where, seven-and-a-half years ago, one of the very best, Achraf Hakimi, was launched on to the big stage.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The five pillars of Islam
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder
Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm
Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km
More on animal trafficking
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The years Ramadan fell in May
THE DEALS
Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m
Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m
Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m
Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m
Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m
TOTAL $485m
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
The years Ramadan fell in May
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The specs
Common to all models unless otherwise stated
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi
0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)
Power: 276hp
Torque: 392Nm
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD
Price: TBC
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The years Ramadan fell in May
New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
New Zealand
Penalties: Barrett (7)
British & Irish Lions
Tries: Faletau, Murray
Penalties: Farrell (4)
Conversions: Farrell
