Ashraf Hakimi is a Moroccan footballer, born in Spain in 1998, and chose to play for the Atlas Lions. He lived harsh financial conditions in a humble family, and a simple house that taught him love for Morocco, as he was born into a family headed by a street vendor in the streets of Madrid.
The son of the immigrant neighborhood was raised in “Getafe”, in the arms of the Spanish club Real Madrid in all its categories.
At the request of coach Zinedine Zidane at the time, he joined the first team of the Royal Club, and from it his star rose in the sky of world football.
Ashraf Hakimi - 24 years old - then became a point of mention for the distinguished performances that he marked in the European fields with the German teams Borussia Dortmund, then the Italian club Inter Milan, ending with the French club Paris Saint-Germain, and he was among the most exciting and leading Moroccan players. For headlines in Europe.
The star Hakimi holds both Spanish and Moroccan nationalities, and his affiliation with his country of origin has been clear since his youth.
“Al-Ghazal”, as he was nicknamed in Castilla, participated with the Moroccan national team in all its categories.
Hakimi - who was famous for the "strutting" or "penguin" dance - participated in the World Cup for the second time. Before the Qatar 2022 World Cup, in which he excelled with the coach Walid Regraki's battalion, he participated with the Moroccan national team in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Birth and upbringing
Ashraf Hakimi was born on November 4, 1998, in the Spanish capital, Madrid, to a father descending from the city of Wadi Zam (central Morocco), and a mother from the Great Palace (northern Morocco), who immigrated to the outskirts of Madrid in the eighties of the twentieth century.
He grew up in Getafe, a southern suburb of the Spanish capital, with his brother Nabil and his younger sister Wadad.
His nickname among his friends was "Ara", an abbreviation of his name (Ashraf).
His mother, Saida Moh, was a house cleaner, while his father, Hassan Hakimi, was a street vendor.
And he was not embarrassed to be proud of his belonging to a humble family, which struggled to earn a living, and was the reason for his fame and stardom.
love of sports
Hakimi was an active child with a lot of movement, and school did not impress him, despite his father's keenness to teach him.
While the love of sports was one of his favorite interests, he practiced swimming, then athletics, and the first features of his talent emerged as a runner, however, he realized that his passion lay in football, which he used to practice regularly with his friends on the street, and he wanted nothing but it.
His parents initially did not agree with his choice, and after that they reconciled with the fact that he had found a goal in football that protected him from the pests of the streets. And playing football.
Precocious talent
Hakimi's footballing career began at the age of seven with neighborhood club Cologne Ovejevi.
Then, in 2006, at the age of 8, he joined the La Fabrica Academy of the Real Madrid team, and was included in its various categories for 9 years.
His father said in a press interview that he used to travel 100 kilometers to take Ashraf to the academy and bring him back, and he used to go daily from 4 pm to 10 pm.
Then he rose to the Real Madrid reserve team in June 2016. Then to the first team in a preparatory tour in America, in a match against “Paris Saint-Germain” on July 29 of the same year.
He returned to the reserve team and made a distinguished season with him.
He had played 28 matches, and scored his first goal on September 25, 2016 in a match against “Fuenlabrada”.
The birth of a Moroccan star
Hakimi had participated in training camps and training sessions for the Real Madrid team, at the request of his coach, Zinedine Zidane.
And in the year 2017, he was officially included in the team as a substitute for the Spanish player “Carvajal”, which was the opportunity that paved the way for the birth of a Moroccan star.
Hakimi's first official appearance with the Royal Club was on October 1, 2017, in a match against Espanyol.
And on December 9, 2017, he was the first Arab player to score with the “Real Madrid” shirt in a match in which he won (5-0) against Seville, and he was no more than 19 years old.
Zidane spoke at the time, admiringly about Hakimi, and said, "I am happy with his debut because for him it is an important day. He played a great match that he will remember for the rest of his life."
While the Moroccan right-back told the media how Zidane encouraged him when he called him and told him that he would play, and directed him to remain calm during the match.
"I am very happy with my first appearance at the best club," he said. "It is a day I will never forget."
Regarding his relationship with Zidane, he said, "He is a coach who always gives me good advice, and always makes me feel that he wants the best for me as if I were his son..and I am very grateful for giving me the opportunity to play for Real Madrid."
"For me he was a great role model, he was a great player and he also proved to be an excellent coach," he added.
Hakimi remained grateful to his former French coach, and said that "he was the one who helped him most in developing his performance."
Professional track
Hakimi's experience with Real Madrid was short, but it was his path towards international professionalism.
On July 11, 2018, he signed a two-year contract with the German team "Dortmund" on loan, and ended a successful experience in which he turned into one of the best players in the world on the right side with his continuous offensive contributions and great speed.
In July 2020, he signed with the Italian team “Inter Milan” on a 5-year contract worth 45 million euros, and after only one season, in which he was the best scorer defender in the team’s history, he moved on July 2, 2021, to the French “Paris Saint-Germain”. For 70 million euros, with a contract that runs until 2026, he became the most expensive Arab player in football history.
And the record holder for the most expensive defender in the history of the French League saw in this deal a dream come true, and said, "I did not expect to play alongside two legendary players: Ronaldo in Real, Haaland in Dortmund, Messi in Paris Saint-Germain."
heart call
Hakimi was 17 years and 11 months old when he answered the invitation of French coach Hervé Renard to join the Moroccan national team.
He was then the second youngest player in the history of the Atlas Lions, after Hashem Mastour.
He previously tried to join the Spain under-19 national team, and joined him for two days.
But he discovered that it was not the right place for him.
He boldly and frankly explained, "I feel as if I am not at home. Not for a particular reason, but this is what I felt. The atmosphere was not similar to what I experienced in my home in terms of Arab culture, as we are Moroccans."
His answer to the questions of the Spanish press has always been that this choice is behind his mother, father, affiliation and roots, and that he feels more psychological comfort when he plays with the Atlas Lions.
"I was born and raised in Spain," he said in a previous interview, "but I never forgot where I came from. At home, my parents shared Moroccan culture with me and raised me as a Muslim. I walked with my heart and chose to represent Morocco instead of Spain."
He represented Morocco's U-17 and U-20 national team, then with the Moroccan U-23 national team.
His first appearance with the senior national team was on October 11, 2016 in a friendly match against Canada.
He then entered the 67th minute as a substitute.
And on September 1, 2017, he scored his first goal for the Moroccan national team against the Mali national team.
And in May 2018 he participated in the World Cup in Russia.
He was also part of the "Atlas Lions" battalion in the 2019 African Cup in Egypt.
And he contributed to the qualification of the Moroccan national team to the World Cup Qatar 2022.
The right-back of Paris Saint-Germain defended the Morocco national team shirt in 57 international matches up to December 6, 2022, only five of which he played as a substitute, and he has the second best scoring record among the national team players currently with 10 goals, despite being a defender.
He participated in his 7th match before Morocco's match with Portugal, bypassing Mustafa Hajji, who participated in 6 matches.
Morocco dream leader
The Moroccan national team defender has achieved many achievements at club level in Europe, and is now leading Morocco's dream in the World Cup in Qatar.
He told the Spanish newspaper Marca, "We want to make history, which we are achieving, and change the mentality towards the Arab world. We say, Why not? Arab teams can achieve great things against European football. We are doing that, especially in the World Cup."
Hakimi excelled in many moments in the World Cup in Qatar, where he passed a perfect ball, from which Youssef Al-Nusairi scored the winning goal against Canada.
In doing so, he achieved what analysts considered "the perfect pass in the 2022 World Cup".
Coach Walid Regragui described him as an "amazing warrior" and said that on many occasions he beat himself up and insisted on playing despite being injured.
Hakimi was also the owner of the decisive penalty shootout against the Spanish national team, which qualified Morocco and made it the first Arab team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
Achraf Hakimi kisses his mother's head after Morocco's victory over Belgium in the 2022 World Cup (French)
The mother behind the success
The right-back of the Atlas Lions affirms the recognition of his loyalty to his parents through international stadiums, the latest of which was in the Qatar World Cup finals.
The kiss of pride was on his mother's head, after the matches in which he starred, and he was keen to dedicate his shirt to her.
The young player owes his successes in football to the efforts of his parents, and he said in 2018, "I fight every day for them, they sacrificed themselves for me, and deprived my brothers of many things, in order for me to succeed," while the Spanish press talked about his mother standing behind his success in football.
When Hakimi, who sings the Arab world in the name of his family, was crowned with the "Best Player in Africa" award, he appeared with his mother on an Egyptian satellite channel.
He said that she was always his support, and always beside him since childhood.
He emphasized his eagerness to take her to his places of play and honor him.
And while he said that he was keen to contact her after every match and reassure her of the result, she also said that she always seeks to check on his health, so she makes him talk to her after every match.
She revealed that every time he calls her, he asks her to pray for him and the team for success.
"His dream is to make the Moroccan fans happy and proud," she added.
They said about Hakimi
De Vrij, defender of Inter Milan, during an interview with the newspaper "Gazzetta dello Sport":
“I have rarely seen a player like Hakimi. He is a real arrow who does the work of the entire squad quickly, and can take advantage of the space in front. He is a player who plays on the right and left sides, and reminds us of the former Italy star, Zambrotta, who used to play very efficiently on both sides.”
Former German national team star Lothar Matthaus:
"Hakimi is the best left-back in the Bundesliga. Joachim Loew (former coach of the German national team) would be happy if he had such a player with a lot of dynamism and technical skills."
French national team striker Kylian Mbappe:
"Achraf Hakimi is the best right-back in the world."
playing style
Hakimi plays with the right foot, and previously scored with the left, and his game is based on his penetrating skills, the accuracy of his passes and his quick launches, as his companions called him "the gazelle", and he is also distinguished by his offensive play.
He is good at shooting free kicks from different angles and dimensions in front of the goal.
He said about his style of play, "The demands differ from different coaches. Some of them prefer to see me on the defensive side more, and others prefer attacking. But I feel my ability to perform them together."
Awards
The best player award in the match, which brought together the Moroccan team with its Canadian counterpart, for the third round of the World Cup group stage "Qatar 2022".
RMC sport chose him as part of the ideal squad for the World Cup group stage in Qatar 2022.
The award for the best right-back in the world, according to a vote by the "Goal" sports website, in partnership with the "FIFA 22" game.
He was in the European Team of the Year chosen by European sports media for the 2020–2021 season.
The International Federation of Football History and Statistics Africa Team of the Year 2020.
CAF Team of the Year twice, in 2019 and 2020.
Team of the Year in Africa from "France Football" magazine four times in the years: 2018, 2019, 2020.
Golden Lion Award for the best player in Africa in 2019.
The squad of players who made a sudden appearance in the European Champions League for the year 2019.
Globe Soccer Award for the best young Arab player in the world in 2019.
Young Player of the Year Award 2018-2019.
Best Young Player Award in the Bundesliga three times: September 2018, November 2018 and December 2019.
Best African Young Player Award for the 2018-2019 season.
He was named one of the 50 best young players in the world in 2018.
Nicknames
Over the course of 5 years in football, Ashraf Hakimi succeeded in winning 8 major tournaments:
2017 King's Cup with Real Madrid Castilla.
UEFA Champions League season 2017-2018 with Real Madrid.
Spanish Super Cup in 2017 with Real Madrid
Club World Cup 2017 with Real Madrid.
2019 German Super Cup with Borussia Dortmund.
Serie A season 2020 with Inter Milan.
French League title for the 2021-2022 season with Paris Saint-Germain.
Record numbers
The fastest player in the Bundesliga during the 2018-2019 season (35 km/h).
The fastest player in the history of the Bundesliga (36.49 km / h).