Germany and Hannover goalkeeper Robert Enke died yesterday at the age of 32.
Germany and Hannover goalkeeper Robert Enke died yesterday at the age of 32.
Club Hannover president Martin Kind announced the death of the former Barcelona stopper, 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 Rubenberge station."
The incident is said to have taken place in the small town of Neustadt at around 18:25 local time.
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 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.
Enke's death came at a time when he was undisputed number one for Hannover and had also regained this title for Germany.
However, a recent bout of illness had seen Enke miss out on the latest Germany squad.
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