Pelayo Novo, a former Real Oviedo player, died Tuesday at the age of 32 after being run over by a train in La Corredoria, on the outskirts of the Asturian capital. The man from Oviedo, who had abandoned football in 2018 due to an accident when he fell from the third floor of a hotel when he was an Albacete player, was currently an ambassador for the Real Oviedo Foundation and a member of the board of directors of the Asturian Federation of Tennis, a sport to which he had devoted himself body and soul, competing successfully in a wheelchair, even proclaiming himself Asturias champion in 2021. Known for his friendly nature, he was always one of the most beloved players by the blue fans, whose team He was part of the most difficult moments.
Novo wore the carbayona shirt between 2009 and 2012 in the ranks of the first team. A midfielder with a long stride and a good striker, he was always highly appreciated by his teammates for his good character on and off the pitch. He later signed for Elche, with which he achieved promotion to the First Division, and also wore the shirts of Córdoba, Lugo, Cluj (Romania) and Albacete. The La Mancha team was the last of his short career, completely cut short when in March 2018 he fell from the third floor of the concentration hotel in Huesca. After two months admitted to Zaragoza, he completed his recovery at the National Hospital for Paraplegics in Toledo. And right there, far from breaking down, he found his new encouragement.
When he left the Toledo Paraplegic Center, he encountered a new difficulty. There, he had all the facilities to practice sports, but when he arrived in Asturias, he was the one who had to find a place to practice this sport “to which I owe so much,” he said. Two colleagues appeared at the Parque del Oeste facilities who helped him a lot and with whom he had chemistry from the first moment. But this exercise in overcoming would have been impossible without his partner.
“I learned that life was much more”
In a interview With ‘El Comercio’, Pelayo highlighted that from his point of view, sport is “basic” for all those people who have any type of disability. And among all the positive effects, it affected one. “It forces us to leave the house. This allows people not to lock themselves between the four walls of their room. There is life outside and we have the right and the obligation to live it as others do », he explained. “I learned that life was much more”.
Once recovered from the most serious injuries, he announced his final retirement from football in October and began a new life in the capital of the Principality. His love for the sport led him to start practicing wheelchair tennis, where he managed to stand out and participated in national championships. In addition, he became very directly involved in the Asturian Tennis Federation, where he was very loved.
He had recently played the Catalonian Open in this discipline that he was trying to make known in Asturias. In fact, he closed last season at number thirteen in the national ranking, staying on the verge of playing in the Spanish Championship. “Next year I’ll be back for it,” he wrote in a post on his Instagram account, where he regularly shared his progress with the racket, as well as facets of his personal life. Apart from the slopes, he ran a dog grooming salon, ‘Dogs N’ Roses’, in the Montecerrao neighborhood with his longtime partner, Iciar López, whom he married on June 25. He had to postpone his honeymoon, in London, where they both attended the Guns N ‘Roses concert, because it coincided with some competitions.
Condolences from Oviedo: “With a broken heart”
He was always an atypical footballer and far from the usual image of the players, since he had brilliantly completed an industrial engineering and later a master’s degree. After learning of his death, expressions of pain came from all over the world of football and especially from Oviedismo where he was very loved. A year ago he had joined the Real Oviedo Foundation as ‘captain’ and participated in charity events organized by the organization.
The Oviedo club published a message on its social networks «With a broken heart. We deeply regret the death of Pelayo Novo, captain of our Foundation”, in addition to showing their support for family and friends. He was not the only one, Sporting also joined the duel. “We are devastated. We send our condolences to Pelayo’s family, his friends, his Real Oviedo teammates and all Oviedo supporters. We will always remember a person as special as Pelayo, “they say from the Gijon club.
“We will always remember you as a warrior who gave everything for our shirt,” wrote Elche late at night, an entity where he left his mark. Lugo or LaLiga also sent their condolences for the sudden death of Pelayo, who hung up his boots at Albacete. Precisely, the Manchego club dedicated some nice words to him: “In a short time, you managed to win the affection of a whole hobby that now mourns your terrible loss.”
