Achraf Hakimi: Made in Madrid, matured in Milan, pulsating in Paris

Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi, considered one of the finest right-backs in world football, is set to face his former team, Inter Milan, on Saturday in the biggest game of the season, the Uefa Champions League final.

“For me, it will be a special final, of course, and we will face it with great motivation. But we want to win our first Champions League," he told Sky.

Three weeks ago, the Moroccan marauder was instrumental in PSG's second-leg win over Arsenal, scoring the second in a 2-1 win that gave the French champions a 3-1 aggregate win to clinch a place in Saturday's final in Munich.

By then, PSG's opponents were already known. Hakimi could not contain his smile at the mention of Inter, remembering fondly his time, brief as it was, in Italy: "It was an important stage of my career ...”

Hakimi might have only spent one year at Inter, working under Antonio Conte, but his arrival at Inter and their subsequent title win had a profound impact on the player.

Cast your mind back to November 2019; Borussia Dortmund were about to host Inter for the fourth game of the Champions League group stage. Both Dortmund and Inter were level on points after three matches. It was Conte’s first season with the Milanese giants, and he was facing criticism owing to his poor record in Europe.

The atmosphere at Signal Iduna Park was intense, the roar from the 'Yellow Wall' loud, raw, and strangely beautiful. Lautaro Martínez’s fifth-minute goal cut through the tension like a hot knife through butter, silencing the crowd and handing Inter an early advantage.

Matias Vecino doubled the away side’s advantage five minutes before half time. Inter were in complete control. Dortmund were facing a costly defeat - that is, until Achraf Hakimi took matters into his own hands. Having celebrated his 21st birthday the night before, the Moroccan scored two goals either side of Julian Brandt’s equaliser to win his team the match. Never in their history had Dortmund won a Champions League game from two goals down.

Conte was furious after the match. “The club will make its evaluations, I am just saying all of us got it badly wrong when planning for this season.”

The right wing-back role proved challenging for Inter that season, with Conte trying five players to find the right fit. None interpreted the role in the way Conte needed to ensure overall tactical balance.

Hakimi’s performance that night left such a lasting impression that, come summer, Inter moved swiftly and decisively, secure the defender they now saw as essential to their project.

Hakimi scored five goals and delivered 10 assists in his last season for Dortmund in the Bundesliga, with 39% of their attacks coming from the right flank. Considering Conte’s style of play, the defender was seen as the ideal player to fortify Inter’s attacking game.

On arrival, Hakimi quickly demonstrated his attacking verve. The player started his playing career as a striker before Ruben de la Red, his youth coach for two years at Real Madrid, converted him to a winger as a 14-year-old. A few years later, he was switched to full-back, a position he has come to define.

Growing up in Real Madrid’s academy with Zinedine Zidane’s son, it was the France great who gave Hakimi his senior debut. Gifted and dynamic, he impressed quickly, but there were concerns about his defensive capabilities. With Dani Carvajal, the Spain international, firmly established at right-back, opportunities were limited in Spain for Hakimi, and he was let go.

After two years in Germany, focusing much of his game on attack, Conte made it clear that Hakimi had to level up at Inter. “He has potential, but he has to work a lot on the defensive phase,” Conte said.

“In Italy, there are pressures, expectations and demands higher than in Germany and in the Premier League, especially in teams such as Inter.”

“He is a boy who has good potential but must work, knowing that there are different pressures here.”

Hakimi made mistakes that drew attention early on in his Inter career. In a Champions League fixture against Real Madrid in November 2020, the defender’s mistake gifted the hosts the opening goal. His poor back pass made while under pressure from Ferland Mendy, was seized upon by Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema.

Inter went on to lose the match 3-2, a result that left them at the bottom of their Champions League group halfway through the competition.

Fabio Capello labelled the mistake "among the worst" in that round of Champions League fixtures. That blunder, combined with the mishap against Parma in a 2-2 draw in Serie A, underscored the Moroccan’s defensive struggles during his early days at Inter. Despite his dazzling contributions going forward, his tactical immaturity proved costly, often inviting Conte’s frustrations.

Those frustrations prompted Conte to bench Hakimi and turn to Matteo Darmian in high-stakes matches where Inter could not afford any defensive risks, such as the Atalanta game that came after the loss to Real Madrid, and an important match away to Sassuolo in the league.

Conte decided to reshape his tactical approach to harness Hakimi’s explosive attacking flair without compromising the team’s defensive solidity. The team began to sit deeper, drawing opponents in, before unleashing Hakimi as a vertical spearhead in transition. It was a blueprint Conte had once employed with Stephan Lichtsteiner at Juventus, but with Hakimi, he now wielded a talent of near-supernatural dynamism.

Like Lichsteiner, Hakimi performed better when he ran from deeper positions, while his aggression ensured Inter could always bully opponents into submission. Inter became an overwhelming physical force that would seldom be beaten.

Hakimi elevated his overall game at Inter as the weeks went by, establishing himself as one of the key players behind Inter’s 2020/21 title win. Playing in Conte’s 3-5-2, the Moroccan improved his positional discipline, tracking back more consistently to maintain the defensive shape, especially in transition. More importantly, Hakimi sharpened his reading of the game, gradually eliminating the costly errors that had plagued his early appearances.

Scoring seven goals and contributing 11 assists, Hakimi made the Serie A team of the season and attracted worldwide attention.

“Conte's greatest strength is that he brings everything out of his players. He taught me to focus not just on attacking, but also defending, and I learned an aspect of the game that I didn't really know very well. I have improved a great deal over the last year,” recalled Hakimi at the end of his time with Inter.

Unfortunately for the Italian giants, their precarious financial situation meant they had to sell players, with Hakimi sold to PSG for €71 million in July 2021.

Under Luis Enrique's guidance, Hakimi, now 26, has grown even better. The Spanish coach says there is no better player in the right-back role than Hakimi.

Enrique's philosophy of a fluid, cohesive style of play has allowed Hakimi, and others, to flourish. The Moroccan is often found drifting across the pitch to open up space for attackers, no longer restricted to his role as a defender.

"He only plays full-back when [Gigi] Donnarumma has the ball," Enrique joked after a games against Nantes in December. "He plays like a striker, like a winger, and can't play any higher up the pitch, otherwise he'd be with the Ultras!”

Hakimi's blend of power and pace enables him to recover defensively with ease, while his relentless engine has seen him log the second-highest number of minutes for PSG this season. He was the driving force behind their imperious march to another Ligue 1 title and only a second Champions League final in the club's history.

On Saturday, he will stand opposite the club he once called home – a place that shaped him and still holds a special place in his heart. Yet sentiment will give way to ambition, for Hakimi is a relentless competitor, ready to give everything in pursuit of the greatest prize in club football.

“We are a family and we deserve this moment – our fans, the people of Paris, our families, everyone who has supported us.”