Tenerife's De Miguel dies after collision with Owono — SkimNews
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- De Miguel, the 30-year-old Tenerife striker, died from injuries sustained in a collision with FC Andorra goalkeeper Owono during Monday's match.
- De Miguel scored 11 goals in his first season as Tenerife were promoted to the second tier of Spanish football, quickly establishing himself as a club favourite.
- Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez Stadium has become a shrine, with hundreds gathering over the past few days to leave flowers, candles, rosettes sent by clubs across Spain, prayer cards, photographs, children's drawings and scarves outside gate nine.
- Poli Suarez, the Canary Islands' minister for education and sport, said Tenerife was in "complete mourning" and "Canarian sport has been left devastated," with the government pledging support to the club, players and supporters and a further tribute planned for Saturday at 18:00 GMT.
- Carlos, a player with Tenerife's disability side Tenerife Foundation, called De Miguel "already a legend" who "gave his heart and soul for the shirt," and said he was left trembling for hours after leaving the stadium on Monday.
- Owono has described his own experience of the aftermath as "the most difficult days of my life," the keeper at the centre of the incident sharing in the island's grief.
- Lisa and Lee, who travelled from Stoke-on-Trent and attended Monday's match hoping to see Spanish football for the first time, returned on Wednesday to lay a Port Vale shirt among the tributes; Lisa said "football has no colours."
Why it matters: Tenerife's rise is inseparable from him: 11 goals in his first season accompanied promotion to the second tier, and a teammate credits him with hauling the club out of a difficult position. A government-backed tribute is planned for 18:00 GMT Saturday, with hundreds already at the stadium — the club's standing rests on a player its own people already call a legend.
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