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
**Oliver Bierhoff, the German football team’s general manager, led tributes to Robert Enke a day after the national goalkeeper’s shocking death.**Enke died after he was hit by a train at a level crossing near Hanover in an apparent suicide on Tuesday.
Former striker Bierhoff said: “We are all shocked. We are lost for words.”
Germany cancelled Wednesday’s scheduled training session and all interview appointments following the death of the 32-year-old Hannover 96 player.
However a news conference has been scheduled for 1230 GMT (1.30pm German time).
Fans flocked to his club’s Niedersachsen Stadium overnight to lay flowers and light candles at the gates in memory of their captain, who had joined them in 2004. Hundreds more queued on Wednesday morning to sign an official book of condolence.
Hannover 96 removed all links to its 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 that match, having recently recovered from a virus, though many expected him to be the number one goalkeeper for the World Cup.
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.”
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“The thoughts of all football fans should be with his family at this awful time”
AdamLeedsUnited
Theo Zwanziger, president of the national federation, said: “Robert was a wonderful man, who had to cope with several blows of fate.” Enke’s daughter Lara died aged two in 2006 of a rare heart condition.
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 the 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.”
“I don’t know how I should tell my wife, she is good friends with Robert’s wife. I feel for his family”
Kevin Kuranyi
Germany striker
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.”
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.”