Bienve Marañón makes history: top scorer ever in the AFC Cup

Welcome Marañón has written his name in gold letters in the history of football in Asia. Andalusian striker Ceres Negros rose AFC Cup all-time top scorer – continental competition equivalent to the Europa League – after scoring a double for Bali United in one of the few matches in Asian competition that were not affected by the coronavirus crisis.

Marañón, about to turn five years without interruption in Ceres Negros, current champion of the Philippine First Division, reached 35 goals in the AFC Cup beating, among others, the Singaporean Aleksandar Duric, the Iraqi Amjad Radhi or the Brazilian Rico, all with more than 30 annotations. The Andalusian striker arrived in the Philippines endorsed by Carli De Murga in 2015 and since then has become one of the most outstanding players in Southeast Asia.

“I can't explain how happy I am! I can only say that the hard work is worth it,” said Bienve Marañón, who took the opportunity to thank Leo Rey Yanson, president of Ceres Negros; His trainer, Risto Vidakovic –Ex from Betis, Cádiz or Écija Balompié-, and all the club staff. The Andalusian also had words for the aforementioned De Murga, who was in Spain recovering from an injury when he met Bienve in Bilbao and offered to join what was then his team.

With two wins and a draw in the first three days of the group stage, Ceres Negros leads his group in the AFC Cup with a three point advantage over Than Quang Ninh, Bienve being the tournament's top scorer with five scores. The Philippine team to which the central defender Manuel Herrera 'Súper' also belongs is facing the start of the Philippines Football League, which is scheduled to start next week and has not been affected by the coronavirus crisis so far.