By Adrian Stewart Co
Naturalized player Bienvenido Marañon is set for his national men’s football team debut tonight as they face host Singapore in the 2021 AFF Suzuki Cup at the Singapore National Stadium.
According to the Cadiz, Spain-native, he is excited with the new challenge in his football career as he vowed to give a maximum effort to give the Azkals a serious chance at winning the prestigious competition.
“We will try to give our 200 percent every single game because we are not fighting for a team but we are fighting for the country,” Marañon said. “I cannot wait for the games to start because for me this is totally different from what I did before.”
“I promise to everybody that I will fight in every single training in order to be the best in the game,” he added. “Hopefully I can adjust to the team because I know many players because I play with them in Philippines. Most of them I didn’t play and I have to adjust.”
The 35-year-old Marañon previously played for Philippine-based teams Ceres-Negros Football Club in AFC Cup and United City Football Club in this year’s AFC Champions League.
Azkals head coach Stewart Hall, meanwhile, said that the team is keeping its expectations modest due to the “difficult preparation times” because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have to look on the blend of the team and how they get together,” Hall said in a presser. “The team must adapt to the situation. It is not great but it’s just the sign of the times.”
“The late start of our matches here in the AFF Suzuki Cup will be beneficial for us to strengthen the team’s chemistry. It’s a new squad. The longer we have the players, the better it is for us in terms of organization,” he added.
However, despite the current circumstances that include the late arrival of the foreign players, Hall said he is pleased with the attitude of the players, and their training intensity has been “very good.”
After the Singapore game at 8:30 p.m. tonight, the national men’s football team meet with other Group A teams in Timor-Leste on December 11, Thailand on December 14 and Myanmar on December 18.
A top two finish will send the Philippines to the semis set December 22 to 26 with the two-legged finals slated December 29 and January 1, 2022./ASC, WDJ