Nico Paz’s touching gesture for Jesús de Miguel shows his sensitivity and affection for Tenerife

Nico Paz’s grand gesture reflects a great deal of compassion and affection for Tenerife and the Tenerife soccer club, as well as, of course, deep respect for the late Jesús de Miguel. In Lens, after scoring Como’s third goal to make it 3-0, the Argentine player revealed a jersey dedicated to the Madrid-born forward who tragically died as a result of a horrific collision during the game.

Nico’s father, Pablo, in fact, played for the Canary Islands team from 1996 to 2002. And it was in Santa Cruz, the archipelago’s largest city, that the young man who is now making the people of Como dream was born.

The tragedy unfolded on Monday, November 2, during stoppage time of the Spanish Segunda División match between Tenerife and Andorra at the “Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez” Stadium, just moments before the final whistle. De Miguel had collided violently with the visiting goalkeeper, Jesus Owono, and collapsed to the ground in full view of players, officials, and fans. After more than five minutes of medical attention on the field, the match was called off for good. The player, who had suffered a cardiac arrest, was resuscitated by emergency responders and transported to the intensive care unit at the “Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria” University Hospital, but his neurological condition deteriorated until he passed away, as announced by the club on Tuesday, November 3, at 8 a.m. De Miguel was 30 years old.

The soccer world has rallied around his family, Tenerife, and its fans. The Spanish Football Federation has postponed the Copa del Rey and Copa de la Reina matches scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, and has canceled the official presentation, scheduled to take place in Almendralejo, of the Under-21 match against Japan. FC Andorra also expressed its condolences: “With broken hearts and deep sorrow, we wish to extend our most sincere condolences to the family of Jesús de Miguel, to all his teammates, friends, and CD Tenerife. May he rest in peace.”

In recent hours, Owono has also broken his silence; he is now the subject of an investigation into possible manslaughter and has been forced to close his social media accounts due to insults and threats. In a statement released by the club, he said: “These are the hardest days of my life. I’m struggling to find the words, and it’s very hard for me to process everything that has happened. I feel immense pain over the loss of Jesús. My thoughts are with him, his family, and all the people who loved him.”