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Over the AFC Cup’s two-decade-long history since launching in 2004, numerous players across the continent have shone brightly, providing unforgettable moments to savour for Asian football fans.

Bienvenido Maranon

The Philippines forward didn’t particularly fire on all cylinders at the start of his AFC Cup career, scoring two goals in 2016 in what was his and Ceres Negros’ debut campaign. There was little indication that Cadiz-born Maranon would take the continent by storm in the following seasons.
In the next three campaigns, Maranon scored a combined 28 goals and became widely recognised as one of the most feared strikers in the AFC Cup, with his ability to run between the channels after timing his run to perfection coupled with his clinical touch in front of goal wreaking havoc for opposition defences.
Maranon continued to hit the heights, scoring five goals in a curtailed 2020 season, in the process overtaking Jordanian Mahmoud Shelbaieh to become the competition’s all-time top scorer with 35 goals etching his name in golden letters as one of the most iconic players in AFC Cup history.

Rico

Rico’s first introduction to the AFC Cup was in 2006 when his seven goals helped Bahrain’s Muharraq Club reach the final. Two years later, the Brazilian had arguably the most mind-blowing season in the competition’s history.
Rico netted nine goals in the group stage alone, including four in one match against India’s Dempo SC. Three more goals across two legs saw off Malaysia’s Kedah in the quarter-finals, before a hard-fought win on away goals against Oman’s Al Nahda in the semi-finals in which Rico’s strike in the away leg proved pivotal.
The Brazilian forward then achieved the unthinkable feat of scoring hat-tricks in both legs of the final as Muharraq brushed aside Lebanon’s Safa SC to lift their maiden title with Rico’s record-breaking 19 goals in one season setting a stellar benchmark for years to come.

Hammadi Ahmed

The only player who came close to breaking Rico’s record is Hammadi Ahmed when his 16 goals in 2016 powered Air Force Club to the title, as he picked up both the Top Scorer and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, with his superb form even earning him a nomination for the AFC Player of the Year accolade.
An injury-hit 2017 campaign saw him score only twice as Air Force Club defended the title before the Iraqi marksman returned the following year as captain for the Baghdad-based club in what would turn out to be another year to remember.
Eight goals including scoring in each of the knockout stage matches and in the final for the second time underlined that Ahmed was truly a big-game player, helping Air Force Club complete an unprecedented hat-trick of titles and in the process becoming the first and only player in the competition’s history to scoop the MVP award twice.

Sunil Chhetri

Former Indian national team captain Sunil Chhetri first appeared in the AFC Cup with Churchill Brothers in 2013 but it was with his long-serving club Bengaluru FC in the subsequent seasons that he became an iconic figure in the tournament.
Sweeping aside the disappointment of India’s inability to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup in Australia, Chhetri led from the front as he brought his A-game to continental matches in 2016, scoring a brace in a single-leg Round of 16 tie as Kitchee SC were knocked out at the Mong Kok Stadium before Bengaluru eventually locked horns with Johor Darul Ta’zim in the semi-finals.
After a 1-1 draw in Malaysia, the Indian football icon turned on the style in what is arguably his greatest continental performance, scoring two stunning goals as JDT crashed out before a narrow defeat to Air Force Club in the final as Bengaluru won hearts across the continent after a runners-up finish. Six goals and seven assists in 2017 and 2018 guided Bengaluru to the Inter-Zone finals and Inter-Zone semi-finals respectively in a period of success that remains unmatched by any South Asian club.

Ali Ashfaq

From one prolific South Asian forward to another, Maldives’ Ali Ashfaq first appeared in the AFC Cup as an 18-year-old in the inaugural edition in 2004 scoring three goals for Club Valencia against Hong Kong, China’s Happy Valley.
The evergreen forward returned in 2011, this time scoring two goals against Vietnam’s Song Lam Nghe An for VB Sports Club. Ashfaq then moved to another Maldivian club New Radiant for whom he scored for fun in 2013. Eight goals across two matches against Indonesia’s Persibo Bojonegoro, including one of the greatest solo goals in the AFC Cup’s history in a rain-soaked Surakarta which remains one of the competition’s iconic moments.
Ashfaq that season became the first Maldivian player to score an AFC Cup hat-trick with New Radiant becoming the only club from the nation to cross the group stage hurdle twice before he returned in 2018 to score another hat-trick against India’s Aizawl FC, cementing himself as one of the competition’s most entertaining players.

Bader Al Mutawa

A talismanic figure of the Qadsia SC side that reached the AFC Cup final thrice between 2010 and 2014, Kuwait legend Bader Al Mutawa finally ended the title drought after falling short on the previous two occasions, scoring in the penalty shootout success against Iraq’s Erbil SC in 2014.
During that period, the forward racked up 28 goals and even picked up the MVP award in 2013 for his consistent displays. However, a FIFA ban on Kuwait in 2015 prevented him from adding to the tally for several years.
After a lengthy absence, Al Mutawa marked his return with two goals in 2019 against Bahrain’s Malkiya, becoming one of only a select few players to have hit the 30-goal mark in AFC Cup history.

Safiq Rahim

An elegant midfielder in his prime, Safiq Rahim captained Malaysian giants Johor Darul Ta’zim to break new ground when they became the first Southeast Asian club to lift the AFC Cup trophy in 2015.
Safiq scored four goals along the way and was adjudged as the MVP of the season. In 2016, he picked up from where he left off by scoring six goals in the group stage, including a hat-trick versus Myanmar’s Ayeyawady United as JDT started their title defence in fine fashion.
The Southern Tigers ultimately fell in the semi-final hurdle before the Malaysian midfielder notched up three goals and five assists in 2017 to help JDT reach the knockout stage for the third season in a row, as the former Harimau Malaya skipper went on to become one of the finest players Malaysia has ever produced.

Mehdi Khalil

The only goalkeeper to win the MVP award, Mehdi Khalil was a giant between the sticks for Al Ahed when in 2019 they became the first Lebanese club to win the competition.
Khalil was instrumental in the triumph after the club’s top-scorer Mohamad Kdouh left on loan following the group stage. The shot-stopper started in all of their 11 matches, conceding just three goals and keeping nine clean sheets and, despite Al Ahed scoring just three goals in five knockout stage games including the final, Khalil’s heroics ensured they would script history.
The Lebanese club had been one of the top teams in the AFC Cup since its inception, reaching the knockout stages on four previous occasions before Khalil finally took matters into his own hands to end the drought in an individual campaign like no other.

Nguyen Van Quyet

Nguyen Van Quyet first appeared in the AFC Cup way back in 2011 when he scored his debut continental goal against Tampines Rovers as his influence on the competition gradually increased over the years.
Six goals in 2014 including a hat-trick against Maziya saw Hanoi reach the quarter-finals, before going on to record another five in 2017. What transpired two years later, in 2019, turned out to be his and Hanoi’s best campaign. It all started with a landslide 10-0 victory against Cambodian side Nagaworld FC, where he opened his account for the season.
Further goals against Ceres Negros and compatriots Becamex Binh Duong meant they progressed to the Inter-Zone semi-finals where the previous season’s finalists Altyn Asyr were knocked out in dramatic fashion with Van Quyet famously scoring two goals in Ashgabat before his scoring streak continued against DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC, ultimately bowing out on away goals as Hanoi came a whisker away from reaching the title decider.

Mikael Doka

Brazilian Mikael Doka had a standout first season in Asian football after arriving in Australia at the start of last season when he was signed by A-League champions Central Coast Mariners.
The 24-year-old, who predominantly operates as a right-back, was an ever-present in the 2023/24 campaign for the Mariners, helping them achieve the feat of becoming the first Australian club to win the AFC Cup title after they beat Al Ahed 1-0 in the final in Muscat.
Doka’s attacking attributes saw him being utilised as a right winger by head coach Mark Jackson and it paid dividends as he finished with four goals and four assists, becoming the last player to be named the AFC Cup MVP.