Tenerife beats Ceuta 2-0 in first match since Jesús de Miguel's death

Collision and death

Jesús de Miguel Alameda, a 30-year-old forward from Madrid, collapsed in added time of Tenerife's match against FC Andorra on Monday, 2 November, after a heavy impact in a collision with goalkeeper Jesús Owono. He went into cardiorespiratory arrest, and resuscitation efforts were carried out on the pitch before he was taken urgently to the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. He died at eight in the morning on Tuesday, 3 November, after an irreversible neurological deterioration. Owono has since been handed a 12-match suspension. The club's first official game after the death took place on Sunday, 15 November, twelve days after the forward's death.

First match back

Tenerife returned to the second division at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López, hosting AD Ceuta in the 14th matchday and winning 2-0. Nacho Gil scored in the 40th minute, before halftime, and then held up a shirt bearing De Miguel's name and the number 9. Before the match, coach Cervera said the squad was unsure whether it could compete so soon.

“We do not know whether we are ready to compete.”

Several Tenerife players struggled to hold back tears after the goal. The emotional weight of the afternoon was visible from the first whistle, with the stands filled with banners and the players' emotions on display throughout the match.

Tributes before kickoff

Before kickoff, the players of both teams and the match officials wore white commemorative shirts with the number 9 and the words 'Always in our memory'. The AD Ceuta squad, led by its captains, laid flowers at the new mural of the forward near Gate 9 of the stadium, which was unveiled in his honour. Tenerife captain Enric Gallego walked to the area where De Miguel had collapsed twelve days earlier and left a floral tribute there. Players from both teams then formed a circle on the centre of the pitch as the stands rose in a sustained ovation, followed by a silent minute and a large banner in the stands honouring the striker. When the clock reached the 9th minute, the number he wore, referee Iosu Galech stopped play and the entire stadium stood to applaud.

Wider football tributes

In the days since his death, football has paid tribute with minutes of silence, stoppages in the ninth minute and shirts bearing his name. The club's own tribute included a mural that now decorates one of the walls of the Heliodoro Rodríguez López. Tenerife's players placed flowers next to that mural before entering the stadium. The afternoon ended with a banner reading 'Jesús de Miguel 9. Always blue and white', a message that set the tone for a return to competition that no one at the club had wanted.