Tenerife pays tribute to Jesús de Miguel in its stadium: "None of us are prepared to live a moment like this or to find the words"

This Saturday, the Heliodoro Rodríguez López stadium in Tenerife once again welcomed its people and filled its stands, like any football Saturday. However, this time it was not to cheer on the team or to enjoy an afternoon of football, but to say goodbye to Jesús de Miguel.

The forward has been resting since last Thursday in the cemetery of Navahermosa, the town of his parents, but his club had yet to pay its own tribute to him. To this end, the stadium has opened its doors to the public, with free entry until capacity is reached, although it was not reached.

Enric Gallego, captain of the team, appeared there; Felipe Miñambres, president of Tenerife, and Rayco García, the club's largest shareholder. The three have remembered Jesus' career and, above all, wanted to show their support for the family. "I know that the family is watching us, and I am very proud that they are listening to us. I never imagined everything we have been going through since this Monday. There are no words to give comfort to that family. There are no words to alleviate the pain they are suffering. Seeing a desperate mother trying to hold on to life is the most difficult thing I have seen in my life," expressed Rayco García.

But if all those who have gone up on stage, converted into a kind of altar with a photograph of De Miguel in the background, have shared something, it has been the broken voice and the pauses between phrases to contain the emotion and tears, the same ones that were not hidden by the rest of the players located on the grass and part of the stands.

"Demi, you will always be one of us. It is very difficult to be here today. None of us is prepared to live a moment like this or to find the words. It is still difficult for us to assimilate that you will not be with us again," Gallego said, visibly moved. But the harshest words came when Carla, the player's daughter, who was only a year and a half old, was named: "We want Carla to grow up knowing who her father was, that one day she can look back and feel proud of Dad."

After the institutional speeches and the screening of a compilation video with the expressions of affection dedicated to the footballer, the club had prepared a religious ceremony presided over by Bishop Eloy Alberto Santiago.

The religious ceremony was interrupted to give way to a string quartet that provided music to a sad afternoon. More than two hours later, the Heliodoro concluded the tribute and its stands began to empty. But, even if the stadium gradually regained silence, it will take a long time to return to normal.