Nico Paz put Como 3-0 ahead at Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Wednesday with a finish in the 40th minute. He pulled his shirt over his head to reveal an undershirt bearing De Miguel’s face and the words “Rest in Peace” printed below it.
Paz was born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where his father Pablo Paz spent six seasons with CD Tenerife.
Paz told Sky Sport Italia:
“I wanted to make this gesture to give some strength to his family, even though I know it’s not easy. I am a Tenerife fan, I was watching the match and it was very hard, yesterday I felt terrible because of this. These are things you don’t expect and I wanted to send some strength to his loved ones.”
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Monday night in Santa Cruz
De Miguel, 30, died on Tuesday morning after a collision seven minutes into stoppage time of CD Tenerife’s Segunda División fixture against FC Andorra on Monday. Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono had rushed out of his area to clear a long ball when his knee caught the striker in the chest.
De Miguel, who had come on as a substitute in the 59th minute with CD Tenerife leading 2-0, went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance to Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Santa Cruz. Owono was shown a red card and the match, level at 2-2, was abandoned.
The Madrid-born forward joined CD Tenerife from Castellón in 2025 and scored 11 league goals in his first season on the island.
Como equal a Champions League record
Como’s away performance was the most spectacular of their short return to European football. The newly promoted Italian club equalled the record for the most goals by a visiting team in a Champions League match. Nine goals came from seven different scorers, with Tasos Douvikas completing a hat-trick and Nico Paz, Lucas Da Cunha, Marc-Oliver Kempf, Mattia Liberali, Martin Baturina and teenage debutant Matteo Papaccioli also on target.
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Cesc Fàbregas called it a “wonderful” night but urged his players to stay humble.
Spanish police have opened an investigation into whether the collision could constitute involuntary manslaughter, though Santa Cruz de Tenerife’s chief prosecutor José Luis Sánchez-Jáuregui told Spanish news agency EFE that criminal proceedings looked unlikely because the incident occurred during play.
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