Seven remaining teams vie for the 2018 AFC Cup title as the action returns after the summer break, and from DPR Korea to Iraq to the Philippines and Turkmenistan, players have put their talent on display as they aim for personal and team glory. Here are four names who have shone brightly this term and will hope to continue impressing as their sides pursue continental glory.
An Il Bom
DPR Korea’s 4.25 await the winners between Ceres and Home United in the Inter-Zone semi-final, which they have reached for the second year running. Crucial to their AFC Cup run was the form of An Il Bom who helped his side’s cause with eight goals.
So dominant were 4.25 that they romped to the top of Group I with a perfect record of six wins, conceding just two goals in their six outings, fewer than any other team in the competition and finding the back of the net a record 23 times.
An was amongst the scorers in five of his side’s six group stage fixtures, a record only matched by Al Ahed’s Ahmed Zreik this season. 4.25’s 2017 campaign ended at the Inter-Zone Play-off Semi-Final after they were beaten 3-0 on aggregate by JSW Bengaluru. This time around, An will be hoping to take them one step further as they attempt to win continental silverware for the first time in their history.
Humam Tareq
Air Force Club of Iraq have dominated the AFC Cup for the past two seasons and are odds-on to grab a third successive title as they take on Jordan’s Al Jazeera in the West Asia Zonal final. However, unlike 2016, when the side was perhaps overtly reliant on forward Hammadi Ahmed who delivered the title with his 16 goals, the current side is a more coherent unit.
Within a solid collective of players, tireless winger Humam Tareq emerges as arguably the side’s top talent. At just 22, Tareq has already represented Iraq more than 40 times, and in this season’s AFC Cup, he showed maturity and improved end product.
Despite not finding the net himself so far, the winger has contributed four assists and supplied 14 key passes in his seven appearances. Tareq is not just about flair and creativity, as his 17 tackles won demonstrate he is not afraid to get stuck in and support the side’s defensive efforts. If Air Force Club are to add a third title, Tareq’s contribution will no doubt play a big part in their upcoming matches.
Murat Yakshiyev
Altyn Asyr finally progressed past the AFC Cup group stage after three unsuccessful attempts since making their competition debut in 2015. And while Altymyrat Annadurdyyev is the side’s top scorer with six goals this campaign, his teammate Murat Yakshiyev has arguably been the more influential.
The Turkmenistan international has played every minute of Altyn Asyr’s AFC Cup campaign thus far and contributed to eight goals; scoring five and setting up further three. Yakshiyev’s intelligent movement consistently helps him find pockets of space in opposition areas to either get on the end of crosses or supply teammates with scoring opportunities.
Altyn Asyr’s group stage success was made all the more impressive by the fact it had come at the expense of last season’s runners-up FC Istiklol of Tajikistan after a 3-2 win on the final matchday. The win sealed top spot for the Turkmen side after goals from Yakshiyev in both legs had helped them beat Alay Osh and his 90th minute strike paved the way for a 2-2 draw against Istiklol on Matchday Two. The 26-year-old will now look forward to the challenge of creating history at the Inter-Zone semi-final against JSW Bengaluru before turning his attention to January’s 2019 AFC Asian Cup UAE.
Bienvenido Maranon
The Spanish winger keeps getting better with every passing season at Ceres Negros. Now entering his fourth year with the club, Maranon has already bettered his eight-goal AFC Cup tally from last season and is leading the scoring charts with 10 this season.
The 32-year-old got his campaign off to a flying start with a brace in his side’s 9-0 thumping of Cambodia’s Boeung Ket Angkor on Matchday One. A blank in Singapore against Home United in the next game was followed by a hot run of form that saw the Spaniard net five in the next three fixtures; one in each leg against Shan United and a hat-trick against the Cambodian side to end the group stage with seven goals to his name.
After scoring in both legs against Shan United, Maranon repeated the feat against Myanmar’s other representatives, Yangon United, in the ASEAN Zonal semi-finals. His first-leg brace helped Ceres to a 4-2 home win and his goal in the second half in Yangon helped seal a difficult 6-5 aggregate win for the Filipinos.
The Andalusia-born attacker will watch from the stands as Ceres take on Home United in the two-legged ASEAN Zonal Finals while he serves a two-match suspension. Having lost out on the goal scoring race to 4.25's Kim Yu-song by a single goal last season, Maranon will be hoping his teammates can get the job done against their Singaporean opponents so he can get the chance to resume his goal scoring exploits.
