Valencia will pay tribute to Tenerife forward Jesús de Miguel, who died this week at a young age, during their LaLiga match at home against Real Madrid this Saturday. The club has prepared several commemorative activities to bid farewell to the player from La Mancha, whose death has shaken Spanish football.
As a sign of mourning, Valencia will fly the Tenerife flag at half-mast from this Saturday until the end of this round of LaLiga and Segunda División matches. In addition, when the two teams enter the pitch, the players will wear tribute shirts dedicated to de Miguel and carry a bouquet of flowers in his memory.
In line with the arrangements for all matches this weekend, there will be a minute of silence before kickoff. Another tribute will take place in the 9th minute of the match, as this was the number the forward wore. The match will be paused at that moment to honor the player.
De Miguel's death has sparked widespread mourning in Spanish football. The Tenerife forward died last Tuesday at the University Hospital Nuestra Señora de Candelaria after suffering cardiorespiratory arrest following a severe collision during Tenerife's match against Andorra on Monday at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López Stadium. He had been in critical condition and hospitalized since the incident.
The incident occurred in the final minutes of the match, when the forward collided with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono while contesting a 50/50 ball. The situation was serious, and the match was suspended immediately. Medical staff first treated him on the pitch before he was rushed to the hospital, where he sadly passed away several hours later.
Although several organizations, including the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), had called for no professional matches to be played this weekend, LaLiga ultimately decided to go ahead with the LaLiga and Segunda División fixtures as scheduled, adding several commemorative activities for the Tenerife player.