Spanish football is in mourning after the death of Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel Alameda, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 30. The 30-year-old died from the serious injury he suffered during his side's match against Andorra, a tragedy that has shocked the sporting world.
According to Spanish newspaper "Sport", Tenerife announced the death of their player at eight o'clock on Tuesday morning. The news cast a shadow of deep sorrow over the club, its supporters and the wider football family, with Tenerife issuing a moving statement that spoke of the difficulty of finding words to console his loved ones.
"We are shattered by the intensity of the pain, our tongues are tied by the shock, and we cannot believe that this is real," the club said at the start of its message, affirming its complete solidarity with the family of Jesús de Miguel, his loved ones and all the team's supporters.
Tenerife added: "There are no words of consolation, and there is nothing that can ease this feeling filled with sorrow," before offering its condolences, saying: "We stand alongside his grief-stricken family and his loved ones, and alongside every member of the Tenerife family who are weeping today over this cruel end."
His family, for their part, thanked everyone for the messages of support and condolence they had received. At the same time, they asked for their privacy to be respected during these difficult moments.
The tragedy unfolded during the match between Tenerife and Andorra at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium. The collision came in added time.
De Miguel was charging from the middle of the pitch to launch a counter-attack when he collided with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono, who had rushed out of his penalty area to intercept the ball.
The goalkeeper's knee caught the striker in the chest and face. De Miguel fell to the grass unconscious. Players from both teams immediately waved for the medical staff to come on.
Medics treated the player for several minutes on the pitch before carrying him off on a stretcher to an ambulance, and from there to the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria University Hospital.
De Miguel suffered a cardiac and respiratory arrest on the way to hospital, forcing the medical crews to resuscitate him. They managed to restore his pulse, but he remained unconscious and was admitted to the intensive care unit in a critical condition.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Tenerife announced a deterioration in the player's neurological condition. They later confirmed his death, ending the desperate attempts to save him.