Germany Goalkeeper Robert Enke Dies Aged 32

Germany and Hannover goalkeeper Robert Enke has died at the age of 32.

Hannover 96 president Martin Kind announced the death of the former Barcelona stopper on Tuesday afternoon, according to the agency dpa.

Kind said, "It is a tragedy. You expect many things, but not something like that.

"I do not know how and why it happened, but I do not think that it had anything to do with football."

Nothing has yet been officially confirmed about the cause of death, but according to German source Morgenpost Online, early signs point towards suicide.

The website quotes a spokesperson from the Hannover police as saying, "Enke has thrown himself under a train at Neustadt am Rübenberge."

The incident is said to have taken place in the small town of Neustadt at around 18:25 local time.

Unhappy

Enke is survived by his wife, Teresa. The couple had a daughter, Lara, who died at the age of two in 2007. Recently they had adopted a new baby girl.

It has been hinted at by Hannover officials, and stated explicitly by the German press, that Enke never truly recovered from the death of his daughter, and that personal pressures such as these were the cause of his suicide.

Bild journalist Wolf Bruer explained to Sky Sports, "It seems to be deliberate suicide. He has apparently driven his car this evening to a train crossing station (level crossing), waited for the train, and the train hit him.

"The president of Hannover confirmed indeed that it's a very sad news. He also said, very importantly, that he confirmed Robert Enke had been a very unstable person."

Career

Enke's early footballing days were in Jena, his home town, where he made his professional debut with Carl Zeiss Jena in 1995.

From there he moved first to Moenchengladbach and then to Lisbon to play for Benfica, where he remains a cult hero.

Barcelona picked him up on a Bosman deal in 2002, but here he struggled, taking loan spells first at Fenerbahce and then Tenerife.

At the island club, though, he regained sufficient stature to be signed by Hannover, and here he became a late bloomer, becoming captain and gaining international recognition at the age of 29.

Enke's death came at a time when he was undisputed number one for his club and had also regained this title for Germany.

However, a recent bout of illness had seen Enke miss out on the latest Germany squad.

Update 00:24 CET Wednesday: Television channel ARD reports that the site of Enke's death was a mere 200 metres from the grave of his daughter.

Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com