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(Thread) Why Real Madrid has parted ways with Achraf Hakimi
Achraf Hakimi has been a revelation this season for Borussia Dortmund, and certainly a standout star in the Bundesliga. His attacking prowess is arguably the best and most dangerous in world football as he possesses insane pace and sound decision-making in the final third.
However, he’s lacked in some areas of the pitch, most notably in his defensive positioning and awareness. But Zidane is a coach who works well with certain youngsters who he admires and in elevating their game, as seen with Fede Valverde and Vinicius.
Zidane could certainly apply that to Hakimi to get him to better contribute defensively while he takes a rotational role on the team and stays patient for a first team place. But this is exactly where the problem lies.
As we know, Fabrizio Romano reported that Achraf wanted a first team place at his next club. And there’s multiple problems with this demand at Real Madrid.
1. Carvajal can’t play second fiddle, and Zidane knows this. Let’s compare the two statistically to give us an overview on how good they are on both sides of the ball.
Firstly, Carvajal has shown superiority to Hakimi in defense. The Spaniard is better at 1v1s vs wingers and at winning the ball back.
Tackle/dribbled past %: Carvajal: 37.2, Hakimi 35.8
pAdj Tackles won: Carvajal: 1.92, Hakimi: 1.86
Tackle/dribbled past %: Carvajal: 37.2, Hakimi 35.8
pAdj Tackles won: Carvajal: 1.92, Hakimi: 1.86
This shows us that Hakimi would struggle defending when Madrid fall back into their mid block, added that it will be without the protection of 3 CBs, let alone having to track back with his advanced position with less cover.
Offensively however, Hakimi is the more dangerous and threatening fullback with an xA of 4.7 compared to Carvajal’s xA of 3.8. And the Moroccan’s pace and dribbling ability can be menacing in-behind defenses, and are also two attributes that Carvajal isn’t best at.
However, Carvajal is still very good offensively and competes closely with Hakimi in some key offensive statistics.
Key Passes: Carvajal = 39, Hakimi = 34
Passes in the final 1/3: Carvajal: 112, Hakimi: 111
Passes into the Penalty Area: Carvajal: 50, Hakimi: 42
Key Passes: Carvajal = 39, Hakimi = 34
Passes in the final 1/3: Carvajal: 112, Hakimi: 111
Passes into the Penalty Area: Carvajal: 50, Hakimi: 42
As we can tell, Carvajal and Hakimi are both elite attacking fullbacks and aren’t far off each other. In my opinion, Hakimi takes the cake as the better attacker because of his physical attributes.
Also keep in mind that Hakimi is allowed to bomb forward often because of his role as a wingback, while Carvajal plays more conservatively to quickly be able protect on counter-attacks and allow Ferland Mendy or Marcelo to go forward to contribute to Madrid’s left-sided overload
One downside of Hakimi’s game is his fallibility to the press. He’s not the best at keeping the ball and making good passes under pressure, seeing by how he leads the Bundesliga in intercepted passes with 55, while Carvajal has only 29 intercepted passes in La Liga this year.
Achraf also has more miscontrols and dispossessions than Dani, with 53 and 57 respectively, while Carvajal only has 25 miscontrols and 21 dispossessions.
It shows to Hakimi’s lack of control and press resistance. Zidane has instructed Carvajal to play as an inverted RB at times since the restart with his decent press resistance, but if Hakimi takes his place, he’ll likely be a lot more limited and won’t be able to play inverted.
After a statistical analysis of the two, we can say Carvajal deserves the starting RB spot at the moment with a far more balanced skill-set.
2. Hakimi’s demand for first team football simply isn’t sustainable.
After reading the first part, you’re probably saying “Well, can’t Madrid just loan Hakimi out for another season? They can allow him to get first team football for now.” Yes, they could. But the problem is that this same issue will likely arise even 3 years down the line.
Unless, Carvajal experiences an unlikely rapid decline in the next 3 seasons, Hakimi can’t be promised first team gametime with a prime Carvajal at service unless he’s sold. Dani has been a servant of the club while possessing one of the most balanced fullback skill-sets.
The next reason of why Madrid are going ahead with the sale of Hakimi that the club simply does not align with Hakimi’s askings, and Hakimi does not align with Real Madrid’s askings. Zidane sees no reason to displace Carvajal next season and for many more years to come.
And neither does Hakimi see a future here, looking to develop quicker under a coach known for his use and great development of wingbacks.
So why should Zidane alter his vision for the squad based on the askings of a youngster? You set a very dangerous precedent by giving in to a player’s asking that may affect your team in more negative ways than positive. We already know that Hakimi won’t provide what Dani does.
But what does that say about the leadership of Real Madrid, to allow a young player to walk into a free first team spot, even spite the belief that the player doesn’t tactically fit yet and hasn’t yet earnt the trust of the manager?
Allowing players to do this is exactly the way that certain player hierarchies in clubs develop.If you allow players to dictate their fate than there’s no point in a leadership deciding anything. You don’t want to risk a trend of players within the club making unrealistic askings
It’s important that players develop with discipline and fight for their place at a club like Real Madrid so players truly value a place in the first team, just like so many club legends have earned.
It’s not wrong that Hakimi asks for a first team place because he deserves it at most clubs in world football and it will help him develop quicker. But it’s wrong that we accept that, because we need a consistent way of developing players and for keeping the squad in harmony.
Anyways that’s my piece, this isn’t meant to be aggressively against Hakimi as he’s a wonderful wingback and will likely succeed under Conte. But I feel that there’s so many people who don’t understand why certain decisions are made by our club.
It’s not just about how are our “future galactico squad” looks, sometimes we will need to part ways with players to make sure the club and the player are at agreement under fair circumstances.
@AdityaQuadros @PgsMadridista @bl33dwhite @Odriozolite @MuMohsen_ feedback and thoughts on the topic appreciated 
