he former Real Oviedo player Pelayo Novo died yesterday at the age of 32 after being run over by a train in La Corredoria. The man from Oviedo, who had abandoned football in 2018 due to an accident when he was a player for Albacete, was currently an ambassador for the Real Oviedo Foundation and a member of the board of directors of the Asturian Tennis Federation, a sport to which he had devoted himself in body and soul, successfully competing in a wheelchair. Known for his kind character, he was always one of the most loved players by the blue fans, whose team he was part of in the most difficult moments.
He was a regular at Carlos Tartiere and even went to see team matches far from Oviedo and regularly participated in soccer gatherings. A midfielder with a long stride and a good striker, he was always highly appreciated by his teammates for his good character on and off the pitch.
Pelayo played for three seasons, between 2009 and 2012, in the Real Oviedo first team and his good performance in the last campaign, at the age of 21, in which he scored seven goals helped him make the leap to professional football, signing for the Elche in Segund and reaching promotion with the Elche. Later he played, also in Second in Córdoba, Lugo and returned to Elche. After a brief stint at Cluj, in the Romanian league, he signed for what would be his last team, Albacete.
He played for the La Mancha team until March 2018 when he suffered an accident when he fell into a vacuum at the team’s concentration hotel in Huesca. After two months admitted to Zaragoza, he completed his recovery at the National Hospital for Paraplegics in Toledo.
Once recovered from the most serious injuries, he announced his final retirement from football in October and began a new life in the capital of the Principality.
His love for sport led him to start practicing wheelchair tennis, where he managed to stand out and participated in national championships. In addition, he became very directly involved in the Asturian Tennis Federation, where he was very loved.
During a chair tennis exhibition.
Lorenzana
He was always an atypical footballer and far from the usual image of the players, since he had brilliantly completed an industrial engineering and later a master’s degree. Without tattoos or stridency, he had married only a few months ago, having to postpone the honeymoon to coincide with some competitions. He ran a dog grooming salon in Montecerrao, since animals were another of his passions and he had two dogs.
After learning of his death, expressions of pain came from all over the world of football and especially from Oviedismo where he was very loved. A year ago he had joined the Real Oviedo Foundation as ‘captain’ and participated in charity events organized by the organization.
The Oviedo club published a message on its social networks «With a broken heart. We deeply regret the death of Pelayo Novo, captain of our Foundation”, in addition to showing their support for family and friends. He was not the only one, Sporting also joined the duel. “We are devastated. We send our condolences to Pelayo’s family, his friends, his Real Oviedo teammates and all Oviedo supporters. We will always remember a person as special as Pelayo, “they say from the Gijon club.
“We will always remember you as a warrior who gave everything for our shirt,” wrote Elche late at night, an entity where he left his mark. Lugo or LaLiga also sent their condolences for the sudden death of Pelayo, who hung up his boots at Albacete. Precisely, the Manchego club dedicated some nice words to him: “In a short time, you managed to win the affection of a whole hobby that now mourns your terrible loss.”
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