CD Tenerife Returns to Heliodoro Rodríguez López After Jesús De Miguel Death

“Your departure has hit us all in a way that is difficult to explain,” Enric Gallego told El Mundo.

The CD Tenerife squad returns to the Heliodoro Rodríguez López on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. local time (UTC) to face AD Ceuta, less than two weeks after forward Jesús De Miguel died at the stadium during a match against FC Andorra.

“It is a match with a lot of emotional charge,” sports psychologist David Llopis told El Mundo, adding that a death of this nature carries an impact far beyond sports.

Fellow specialist María Blanco, from Train Your Mind, noted that returning to competition so quickly is difficult. Blanco emphasized that players are not superheroes and must try to refocus their emotions toward the game, recommending they act like machines by executing training plans without overthinking.

The squad resumed training on Monday accompanied by psychologists, including Carmen Linares. “We are here to provide a little light so that the path is not difficult for the players, but they have to walk it themselves,” Linares told El Mundo. Blanco noted that returning to daily routines without finding a teammate in his usual spot ranks among the hardest hurdles for a dressing room.

José González, a grief formation expert, explained that giving space to grief can be as simple as sitting next to a teammate without searching for the perfect phrase. Llopis described the loss as extraordinary, noting that no team is ever prepared to face such an event.

Experts advised constant support, shifting from collective healing to individualized care. That collective circle includes every club employee who interacted with De Miguel, alongside the coaching staff. Blanco pointed out that while the pain is felt across Spanish football, it cuts deepest within a Tenerife dressing room that lost a peer in the 97th minute of the Andorra fixture.

Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono left the pitch amid abuse after being sent off in the closing moments of the match.

Blanco stated that intense media scrutiny and public hostility will make guilt management a long-term daily challenge for the player, making it uncertain if he might step away from professional football entirely. González stressed that athletes cannot make career decisions while in deep grief and must be allowed to choose without pressure.

Reflecting on the tragedy, González cautioned against constant media replay of the incident, which causes distress for the family and players, and suggested that tributes should focus on De Miguel’s career and character. Sunday’s fixture will feature a minute of silence and a stoppage in the ninth minute to honor De Miguel’s shirt number. González advised players against framing the match solely around winning for their late teammate.

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