Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel mourned in Navahermosa after on-field collision
Jesús de Miguel Alameda, the Tenerife striker known as “Demi”, was laid to rest on Thursday afternoon in Navahermosa as the village’s narrow streets, normally home to 3,587 people, filled to mourn him following his death three days after an on-field collision with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono.
“We wanted to be close to his parents, his wife and daughter. In moments of pain, football comes together more than ever,” said Luis de la Fuente at the funeral, where silence accompanied the cortege from the funeral home to the parish church of San Miguel Arcángel.
De Miguel was treated on the pitch for six minutes after the collision in the 96th minute, during which medics were reportedly able to re-establish a pulse before he was taken on a stretcher to an awaiting ambulance and transferred to the Hospital Universitario de Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Santa Cruz, where doctors succeeded in getting him to breathe again; he remained critical but, with his body temperature lowered, was described as stable until his neurological condition deteriorated overnight and he died at 8am, an announcement Tenerife issued at 8.31am. The preliminary autopsy cited a trauma of the thorax: commotio cordis. He was 30. His partner Maria was in the stands with their 16-month-old daughter, Clara, when the collision occurred.
De Miguel’s career began in the Leganés academy and included spells at Fuenlabrada, Inter Madrid, Unión Adarve and Navalcarnero before moves to Salamanca, Castellón and Tenerife; he never played in the top flight, made 40 appearances in the second division and, according to the club, only became a “professional” in Spain’s sense at 27, later achieving promotion twice. Teammate Javi Alonso called him “a worker, a footballing labourer,” and Rayco García, Tenerife’s majority shareholder, said: “How we loved him,” adding that “He was so humble, his feet on the ground.”
Members of Tenerife’s squad and staff travelled together to Navahermosa, having boarded a charter at 7am and then travelled by bus, and carried De Miguel’s coffin on to the plaza after the service; wreaths from his clubs covered the hearse and the church could not contain all those who attended. The club president Felipe Miñambres said: “We will get through this together but we will need help, professional help.” Manuel Hernandez, De Miguel’s agent, said: “In those difficult moments, we want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for the words and gestures, all the support we have received. We’re very grateful; to feel so much affection towards Jesús and see the impact he made on people is something we will always take with us. Jesus leaves a void that is impossible to fill but also leaves everyone who was fortunate enough to share their life with him great memories.”
The loss prompted responses across Spanish football: the Spanish Federation cancelled all Copa del Rey games, while La Liga decided that all fixtures would go ahead except those involving Tenerife, Andorra and De Miguel’s former club Castellón, a decision confirmed on Thursday afternoon. The players’ union said it had canvassed footballers and many felt they were not ready to play; Como’s Nico Paz wore a T-shirt in De Miguel’s honour during Champions League action, Fran Sol launched a crowdfunding page for the family, and Almería announced that gate receipts from their match against Tenerife would be given to his family.
Fans left flowers and candles outside gate No 9 at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López and the squad stood in silence; Las Palmas said they would wear their third kit this weekend because it matches Tenerife’s blue and white and noted they would prefer not to play. Representatives at the funeral included the presidents of the AFE, the federation and the league, the presidents of Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, Andorra’s owner Gerard Piqué and club officials Ferran Vilaseca and Jaume Nogués, the minister of sport Milagros Tolón Jaime, Pablo Blanco as ambassador of Sevilla, and former teammate Giorgi Kochorashvili, among others, and Tenerife’s head coach Luis García said: “We’re people above all else.”
De Miguel’s body was flown to the mainland on Wednesday for the service in his parents’ village, and Tenerife has announced an event at the club’s stadium on Saturday that will be open to everyone.