MANILA – Naturalized player Bienvenido Marañon is set for his national men’s football team debut tonight. 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. He vowed to give 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, 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.”
He added: “I promise to everybody that I will fight in every single training to be the best in the game. Hopefully I can adjust to the team. I know many players because I play with them in the Philippines.”
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 the team is keeping its expectations modest due the “difficult preparation times” because of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (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 with the players, the better it is for us in terms of organization,” he added.
However, despite the current circumstances that includes the late arrival of 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 will play other Group A teams in Timor-Leste on Dec. 11, Thailand on Dec. 14 and Myanmar on Dec. 18.
A top two finish will send the Philippines to the semis set Dec. 22 to 26 with the two-legged finals slated Dec. 29 and Jan. 1, 2022./PN
