Goalkeeper Jesus Owono’s doting mum has rushed to Andorra to comfort him as he endures the ‘hardest days of his life’ following his death clash with a rival striker whose funeral took place yesterday.
Maria del Carmen Owono Mangue made the five-and-a-half-hour drive from her home in the Basque city of San Sebastian to Andorra where her 25-year-old son currently plays his football after learning Jesus de Miguel had lost his fight for life in a Tenerife hospital.
She and the Andorra FC keeper have been deeply close since he moved to San Sebastian from their native Equatorial Guinea as an eight-year-old boy to rejoin her after she had emigrated earlier in search of work to provide for her family and an aunt had taken the youngster into her home.
Owono, the eldest of six siblings, has admitted of his arrival in a new country: ‘I came in pursuit of a dream, not the dream of playing football, but the dream of being with my mother.’
His mum has confessed: ‘Waking up in the morning and seeing your child doing what they love most is a mother’s greatest joy.’
She said in the same interview when the goalkeeper was just 20 in comments which could now come back to haunt the family: ‘He needs to keep working. We still don’t know what will happen. If God allows things to turn out well for him and if not, well, you know that he has worked hard and done what he could.’
Goalkeeper Jesus Owono is suffering and being comforted after his killer collision
Owono, who has closed his social media accounts, has had his mother rush to his side in the days following Jesus de Miguel’s death (Source: Instagram)
Overnight one of Jesus’ younger brothers confirmed their mum was by his side in Andorra.
Speaking from the second-floor four-bed apartment she owns in a tree-lined street in a middle-class residential neighbourhood east of San Sebastian’s city centre, he said: ‘We’re all very distraught. My mum has gone to be with Jesus because he is suffering.’
A source close to the goalkeeper added: ‘Maria del Carmen is one of the most important, if not the most important, people in Jesus’ life.
‘He had a difficult start being separated from his mum at such an early age and it was very difficult for her too.
‘They have been inseparable since Jesus moved to Spain as an eight-year-old.
‘Maria del Carmen has helped him integrate into completely new surroundings and supported him every step of the way on his road to becoming a professional footballer.
De Miguel and Owono collided – and hours later the former died of ‘accidental chest trauma’
De Miguel’s team-mates are pictured arriving at his funeral in Navahermosa on Thursday
‘It’s only natural that she’d want to be by his side now when by his own admission he’s in pieces and finding it impossible to come to terms with the fact a fellow footballer has died because of something he did.’
Some of Owono’s Andorra FC team-mates and members of the club’s supporters’ group have also paid him a visit to deliver a letter of encouragement.
The letter refers to the goalkeeper as ‘their Spiderman,’ ‘his joy,’ and ‘a person with feelings and a strong family connection.’
Owono was red-carded after kneeing the 30-year-old CD Tenerife striker in the chest in a reckless tackle late into stoppage time during a second-division match on Monday.
The match was suspended when the two sides were drawing 2-2.
Tragic Jesus, whose partner Marta Fernandez and one-year-old daughter Carla were watching from the stands, was reportedly revived by paramedics on the pitch after going into cardiac arrest before being rushed to hospital.
His club confirmed around 9.30am local time on Tuesday he had died about 8am the same day, saying they were ‘heartbroken’ and had a ‘lump in their throats’ after revealing earlier the footballer’s neurological condition had worsened.
A post-mortem concluded in a preliminary report his death was consistent with ‘accidental chest trauma’ although the results of further tests conducted during the autopsy are still pending.
Owono used ‘excessive force’ while contesting the ball near the half-way line according to the match referee’s report.
He is facing a lengthy ban and possible criminal charges after police in Tenerife confirmed homicide squad officers were looking into whether had committed an involuntary manslaughter.
Legal experts have cast doubt on the possibility of prosecution because the clash that resulted in Jesus de Miguel’s death occurred during open play.
The first photos of the dead footballer’s partner emerged overnight as his team-mates prepared to travel to the small town of Navahermosa, 80 miles south-west of Madrid, where his devastated parents come from.
Jesus’ mum and dad made the return trip after jetting to Tenerife to try to reach their son before he died in hospital on Tuesday morning hours after his clash with Owono.
The father was watching the match in a bar in his home town when he saw him slump to the ground.
Equatorial Guinea international Owono, who turned round as he headed back to the dressing rooms following his sending off and walked back to the player he had hurt after realising how seriously injured the Tenerife frontman was, broke his silence on Wednesday.
The father of De Miguel, is hugged at his son’s wake, three days on from his death
The football world has rallied behind De Miguel and his family with tributes to the striker
A neighbour said De Miguel’s father (pictured right, with his mother, girlfriend and sister R-L) burst into tears after seeing the impact of the collision on television. (Source: Instagram/martitamig)
He released a statement via his club that said: ‘These are the most difficult days of my life.
‘I am struggling to find the words, and it is very hard for me to process anything that has happened.
‘I feel immense pain over the loss of Jesus. I am thinking of him, his family, and all the people who loved him.
‘I know there will be many matters to address, and I will face whatever comes with complete respect.
‘But right now, honestly, I cannot think of anything other than Jesus and the grief we are experiencing. Rest in peace, Jesus.’
FC Andorra, reacting to news of the Tenerife striker’s death in hospital, said on Tuesday morning: ‘Heartbroken and devastated, we wish to extend our deepest condolences to the family of Jesus de Miguel, all his colleagues and friends, and to CD Tenerife.
‘May he rest in peace.’
