Achraf Hakimi, the 27-year-old right-back for Paris Saint-Germain, gave a very revealing interview to The Bridge about Luis Enrique’s influence. The Moroccan described it less as a simple tactical adjustment and more as a high-level breakthrough, sparked by a coach capable of helping him rediscover his own game.
Hakimi: “Thanks to Luis Enrique, he broadened my perspective on the pitch.”
I started with Pochettino, who asked me one thing. And thanks to Luis Enrique, he broadened my perspective on the pitch. To see how I can position myself, to see things I’m capable of doing. Things I wasn’t sure I was ready for.
Does he have an effect on you psychologically too?
And then, on the first day, he says to you: “We’re going to do some three-man drills.” I reply: “What do you say?” “He tells you to cut inside, and I tell him, ‘But I’m a full-back.’ I attack, I defend on my side, and then he showed me videos, he showed me things, and I thought, ‘Ah yeah, that’s it.'”
Hakimi: “He gives clear messages”
Do you understand everything he says, Luis Enrique?
We’re used to it, we’ve been with him for three years now, we’re used to it. He gives clear messages, he doesn’t give you a lot of information, he just tells you, bam, A, B, C.”
