Keeper 'suicide' shocks football

Tributes are being paid as the world of football mourns Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke, who has died after being hit by a train in an apparent suicide.

 

Enke, 32, was struck by a train at a level crossing near Hanover.

 

Oliver Bierhoff, the German football team's general manager, said: "We are all shocked. We are lost for words."

 

Germany cancelled a planned training session and all interviews after the death of the Hannover 96 player, who is said to have suffered from depression.

 

Enke's daughter Lara died aged two in 2006 of a rare heart condition, and he is thought to have struggled to cope with the loss.

 

Robert was a wonderful man, who had to cope with several blows of fate

Theo Swanziger, president of German football federation

German journalist Alexander Bleick told BBC Radio 5 live: "Robert spent a long time with his wife in the hospital and [Lara's death] was a very sad moment for him.

 

"A year ago he and his wife adopted a little girl and everyone thought he would be fine again, but as far as we know he had suffered depression for a long time and was taken off training for several weeks in the past month at Hannover.

 

"Doctors worked with him to get his confidence back but it seems they didn't manage to do it."

 

A news conference scheduled to start at 1130 GMT (12.30pm German time) is expected to reveal more about Enke's death.

 

Fans flocked to his club's Niedersachsen Stadium overnight to lay flowers and light candles at the gates in memory of their captain, who joined them in 2004. Hundreds more queued on Wednesday morning to sign an official book of condolence.

 

ROBERT ENKE

Born: 24/8/77, Jena, East Germany

Debut: 1995-96

Clubs: Carl Zeiss Jena, Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica, Barcelona, Fenerbahce, Tenerife, Hannover 96

Germany debut: 27/3/07 versus Denmark Caps: 8

Awards: Bundesliga goalkeeper of the season 2008-09

Hannover 96 removed all links to their regular website content, replacing them with a black page showing the simple words "Wir trauern um Robert Enke" ("We are mourning Robert Enke").

 

Germany's friendly against Chile on Saturday may be postponed. When asked about such a possibility, the general secretary of the German national federation, Wolfgang Niersbach, said: "It's hard to say anything at this point in time. We have to collect our thoughts. It's terrible, we are stunned."

 

Enke was not in the squad for the match, having recently recovered from a virus, but many expected him to be the number one goalkeeper for the 2010 World Cup.

 

The German Football League has announced a minute's silence will be held at grounds ahead of the next round of the top two divisions of the Bundesliga for the weekend of 21-22 November, with all players wearing black armbands.

 

Germany's 1974 World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer told Bild newspaper: "I feel endless loss and sorrow. When you receive news such as this, all other problems seem small."

 

Theo Zwanziger, president of the national federation, said: "Robert was a wonderful man, who had to cope with several blows of fate."

 

Enke started his career at Carl Zeiss Jena and club spokesman Andreas Trautmann said: "The right words don't exist for such a tragedy. We are shocked and our thoughts are with Robert's family. They have our heartfelt sympathies."

 

Jena, now in the German third division, will open a condolence book for Enke, with the intention that it will be passed on to his family.

 

The death caused shockwaves across Europe, at the various clubs where the goalkeeper had plied his trade.

 

Enke's former team-mate at Portuguese club Benfica, Nuno Gomes , told the club's website: "I find it hard to believe that he has died. It is a tremendous loss for world football, the loss of a man of rare qualities in our time. It is very sad news.

 

"I remember how he was just a young kid when he came here but, from day one, he made a great effort to learn our language and did it very quickly. He was a young kid with a huge desire to reach his goals and learn, a man with a capital M."

 

The club's current goalkeeper Moreira added: "I am shocked. All the memories I have are good ones. As a professional, he was one of the best to pass through Benfica and he learned to speak Portuguese in three months.

 

"If it was not for [Tuesday's] tragic accident, I'm sure he would have played in the World Cup."

 

 

AdamLeedsUnited

The two Spanish clubs Enke played for, CD Tenerife and Barcelona, paid their condolences to his family.

 

Kevin Kuranyi , a striker for Schalke 04, told Bild: "It really can't and should not be true. Robert was such a great person. I don't know how I should tell my wife, she is good friends with Robert's wife. I feel for his family."

 

The German national federation posted a range of further tributes to the player:

 

• Christian Wulff (Prime Minister of Lower Saxony): "Germany loses an exceptional athlete and a very compassionate man. He was a role model."

 

• Michael Vesper (General Director of the National Olympic Committee): "I am shaken to the core. Our thoughts are with his family. This is a tragedy."

 

• Martin Kind (President of Hannover 96): "An absolute catastrophe, which I still cannot grasp."

 

• Ewald Lienen (former coach of Robert Enke with Hannover 96): "This loss is beyond words. I feel endless regret and sorrow that he was in such as situation that led to this final act."

Tragic news, it's horrible when something like this happens.

 

It's a stark example of what severe depression can lead to.

 

RIP.

:(

RIP

it's so sad... :(

I'm still missing words.

It's wow ... so damn, I can't say anything.

May he be in a better place now.

My prayers go out to his family & friends.

:(

 

RIP Robert Enke.

Coldplay should release So Sad for this type of stuff. :(

I remember him from the time he played in Portugal, at Benfica ( best soccer team in portugal :laugh4: mine :D ) i liked him very much, great player, this was tragic new for me :( so sad..even worse when i think he commited suicide :\

 

oh well....rip :(

Didn't know much of him, but I was familiar with the name but it was a massive shock anyway. What a tragic story. Rest In Peace Robert Enke.

I was very shocked when I was watching a tv station last evening while they interrupted the program in order to announce Robert Enke's death.

 

He was one of the most likable football players you can imagine. Definitely the best goalkeeper Germany has had these days. I also remember the loss of his daughter three years ago. It was very emotional at that time and I felt sympathy for him. I give kudos to his widow who was strong enough to give a press conference in Hannover earlier the day. Good decision Germany and Chile have called off their friendly in Cologne on Saturday.

 

Ruhe in Frieden!

he was one of the best goalkeepers benfica ever had... even though he played for "us" really young!!!

 

i was really sad knowing his death.. RIP Robert!!!!

These were really shocking news yesterday:sad:

 

R.I.P Robert Enke

 

Oliver Bierhoff started crying during a press conference and all he said was "This is how the whole team feels"......

 

what I find most sad is that it shows what depression can do to you and that it actually happens everyday, but we do not see it...:(

R.I.P.

Robert Enke:cry:

R.I.P. :(

I still can't quite describe how this feels for me.

Everyone I met so far was deeply shocked.

As a Hanoverian I can only try to say how much this man meant to our city, not only as our goalkeeper, our team captain, but also as a human being.

He was always a nice, humble and very dedicated person.

 

I've been to the city centre yesterday and only saw little of what was really going on.

The church was crowded with over 800 people and another 3000 waiting outside.

 

More than 35 000 people gathered to mourn his death and march from the centre to the

football stadium.

A memorial service will be held in the stadium on Sunday.

 

His death left us all devastated and I can only hope that it will at least raise awareness for the disease depression. It's a shame that he felt the need to keep it a secret for so long.

Robert Enke is only one of 12 000 Germans who commit suicide each year due to depression.