Hakimi: Whatever happens, I'll always have a good relationship with Zidane

Borussia Dortmund's on-loan Real Madrid full-back talks to AS about life in Germany, coming through at the Bernabéu.

What's your relationship with Dortmund boss Lucien Favre like? How similar is he to Zinedine Zidane?

We've got a really good relationship. He's always looking to help me, showing me videos, correcting things; he knows I'm young and hungry to learn, and I make sure to listen to him because everything he says to me is true. 

He has a lot of experience and is always trying to help me, be it in training or in matches. He's quite similar to Zidane; they're both coaches who like to talk to you and look out for their players, and are always looking to help them improve so the team can grow as a whole. Yeah, they're similar.

Can you imagine what it would be like to come up against Real Madrid later in the Champions League?

For now I'm just taking things step by step. Particularly given the group we're in, for now we have to just focus on trying to get through, and then we can think about who we might be drawn against. If it's Madrid, of course it would be special for me. 

I'd have to approach as if it were just any other game, so as to take the pressure off; but it's a club that I'll always call home. Let's hope we don't get them... or at least that we get them as deep into the competition as possible. In the final: I'd love that.

Would you celebrate a goal against Real Madrid?

I wouldn't, to be honest. I wouldn't do it; I'm not that kind of player. It's my home club, a club that has done a lot for me, that has given me the opportunity to be a footballer. I'll always be grateful to Real Madrid. I couldn't celebrate.

What was your relationship with Zidane like?

It was, and is, really good. He's a coach who always gives me good advice - you can see that he wants the best for me, as if I were a son. Since I left, I've seen that he's spoken about me from time to time and I'm really grateful to him for giving me the chance to play for Real Madrid, the greatest club in the world. Whatever happens, I'll always have a good relationship with him.

Real Madrid won the Champions League... and he resigned. Did he seem like he'd had enough?

No, I didn't pick up on anything. I wasn't expecting it at all, I thought Real Madrid was his home - and it clearly is; after all, just look at the way came back when the club needed him. I was surprised that he left; I didn't expect it.

And, shortly afterwards, Cristiano left too.

Yeah, that was another surprise. I hadn't heard anything about that at the end of the season, he was just as he always is. When it was announced, I said: "I can't believe it."

In a bid to fill the void left by the Portuguese, Real Madrid have signed Eden Hazard, whose brother, Thorgan, is at Dortmund with you.

We talk about the team sometimes. We watch Madrid together whenever we can, and discuss things.

Another player who has arrived at the Bernabéu is Luka Jovic, who you'll know from his time in Germany.

He's a top striker. I came up against him twice and you can see how hungry he is for goals. He's going to be a big help to Real Madrid whenever called upon.

As a Real Madrid fan, what was your reaction to the way the team fell apart last season?

I don't know if they fell apart, but expectations at Real Madrid are always really high. It's a club that is always out to achieve the maximum and has slightly spoiled people by winning so many trophies year in, year out. 

So when Madrid go a year without winning anything, it's seen as a disaster. They've had a bad year, but you have to have patience. These are the same players [who achieved success], with the odd change of personnel here and there - and they'll bounce back.

Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric... Don't you think it's a generation that might have had its day?

No, absolutely not. They're players who are always ready to step up and do the business, and who have shown they can't be written off. They can turn around tomorrow and win you another Champions League.

Even Zidane, the coach who won three straight Champions Leagues for Madrid, has come in for a lot of criticism. Is he the right coach for the club?

I find the criticism that the players or Zidane get is unfair at times. They have all given so much to the club: Champions Leagues, other trophies... and above all, they've improved the club and I don't think they deserve it, they're club legends and you have to give them a bit of respect. 

I think Zidane is the ideal coach for Madrid; no other coach has won three straight Champions Leagues for the club. He's the ideal man for the job, and he has shown that.