More from Guardian.
Apparently he resisted treatment for clinical depression out of fears of losing his other, adopted daughter.
http://www.guardian....over-96-germany
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On the surface, Robert Enke's career appeared to be going from strength to strength. Widely seen as Germany's number one goalkeeper, the 32-year-old was at the peak of his professional powers. But beneath the surface, he was a deeply troubled man.
Enke threw himself in front of a train on Tuesday night, shocking the football world and leaving his wife to come to terms with a life cut short by his struggle with depression.
Teresa Enke described how her husband spent years trying to hide his mental illness, fearful it might destroy his career and cause the authorities to take away their adopted daughter, before he finally killed himself.
His suicide has shocked Germany, leading many to ask how it was possible that such a high-profile sportsman could have concealed his depression for so long.
Speaking at a press conference today at the headquarters of Enke's club, Hannover 96, Mrs Enke spoke of her efforts to help him overcome his depression.
"We thought we were capable of managing everything. We thought love would make it possible. But sometimes you just can't manage it," she said.
Dressed in black and her voice shaking, she spoke movingly of how she and her husband had dealt with the death in 2006 at the age of two, of their first daughter, Lara, who had been born with a weak heart.
In May this year they adopted a child called Leila who is now eight months. Enke, she said, had lived in fear that were his depression to be discovered, he might lose custody of the child, and could jeopardise his career and he had therefore resisted treatment.
"He was fearful he would lose Leila … I repeatedly tried to reassure him that it wasn't a problem, that … everyone knew how lovingly he cared for his daughter, until the end," she said.
Enke, 32, who was a favourite to start in goal for Germany at the World Cup in South Africa next year, having overcome a series of personal tragedies and professional setbacks, left a suicide note in which he apologised to family and friends.
In the note, which has not been made public, Enke said he had deliberately deceived his doctors and family over his mental state over the past few weeks, in order to be able to realise his plans to take his own life.
Fans flocked through the day to the ground of Hannover 96. Many wept as they queued to sign condolence books, lit candles and laid flowers.
Tributes flooded in throughout the day, from Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, Franz Beckenbauer and other figures from international football. Referring to Enke as a "great person, a talented footballer" and a "modest young man of great character", Theo Zwanziger, president of the German Football Federation (DFB), said the organisation would endeavour to discover how his illness could have gone unnoticed for so long.
"The question as to why has been with us since [Tuesday] evening … the team, the trainers, the players, the football fans and people in this country … want to know why," Zwanziger said.
"I can't answer that question, but we can say with certainty that we'll try to never let it happen again that someone who gave us so much … sees no alternative but to take his life."
Even though it has ruled out any connection between Enke's death and football, the DFB has said it is keen to answer why a young, talented and celebrated footballer such as Enke, was driven to such an extreme measure and felt he could not ask for help.
As a goalkeeper Enke had sometimes been subjected to a level of abuse which he had found it hard to cope with, such as in his first game while playing for the Turkish side Fenerbahçe in 2003 when fans pelted him with mobile phones and beer bottles after he made a decisive error.
After the incident, Enke, who was himself the son of a sports psychologist, said that he had been shocked by the anger and had "not deserved the hate they showed me".
Margot Dunne, a Germany-based football reporter and broadcaster, said footballers found it difficult to admit to depression because the sport was notorious for punishing players for showing vulnerabilities.
"Signs of weakness in the past have been seized on by fans and players have suffered bullying from the terraces as a result," she said.
"Players are under pressure to be the ultimate examples of mental and physical strength. Being depressed … doesn't fit into that image as far as many fans are concerned."
Neil Lennon, the former captain of Celtic was one of the first players to break the taboo and write about his battle with depression.
In his book Man and Bhoy he said: "It's very difficult to come forward and talk about it, but … it is an illness, it's like getting the flu or breaking a leg. It happens, and it can happen for no reason."
Ulf Baranowksy, manager of Germany's Professional Footballers' Association, said while Enke's death had come as a shock, he could not rule out that it was linked to the increasing psychological pressure under which footballers find themselves.
After reading the bold text and reflecting somewhat, it makes me wonder about soccer to a degree.
I mean the "you sucks" just get brushed aside unless you're a really thin-skinned person, in which case you shouldn't be in the sport. But soccer fans can be some of the most venomous and mean-spirited fans in any sports. If you're a pro footballer at a high level, opposition fans will say
anything to rattle you - even resorting to racism, homophobia, and other kinds of prejudicial languag - and your own home fans will heckle the living daylights out of you if you don't perform to their expectations. IMHO, it's ten times worse, if not more, than the next-worst sport for that which IMO is probably ice-hockey, especially in Canada.
On top of that there's the managers. If you get a manager with a hot head and you don't have a thick enough skin, you're in trouble. Some managers - best example being Czech manager Karel Brückner - have a horrendous temper.
I think in Enke's specific case that the depression was not so much caused by the pressures of high-level footie as it was by the passing of his biological daughter. But I can see where he comes from about the unwarranted hatred. Being passionate about your team is good, but treating someone like that because they let in one goal is horrendous.
http://www.hannover96.com/ < Hannover's site has shut down momentarily in honour of Enke, and the page caption translates as "we mourn Robert Enke." It has been said on Wikipedia that Hannover has retired #1 in his honour, however there was no citation on this so take from this what you may.
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Posted 10 November 2009 - 04:23 PM
Enke was one of Germany's best goalkeepers, IMO, and was a legend in the annals of Hannover 96. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. This is a big loss to German soccer imo.
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