German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has committed suicide. He threw himself in front of a busy commuter train. Enke was hit by the train which was travelling at 100mph as it passed through a crossing near Hanover on Tuesday Nov 10th.
He had been suffering from depression. Enke first sought treatment in 2003, when he lost his starting place at Barcelona and developed anxieties and fear of failure.
"He called off all therapy appointments for the next few weeks, until further notice, because he said he was feeling better," said the doctor treating his depression.
Candles lit for Enke
He lived in the shadow of Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann for almost a decade and it was only after the latter's international retirement last year that Enke emerged as a leading contender for the position.
Enke, 32, was set to travel with the Germany squad to next June's 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
He leaves behind his wife Teresa (pictured above) and 18-month-old daughter Leila, whom the couple adopted in May, three years after their two-year-old daughter Lara died from a heart infection.
Dressed in black, his wife Teresa said: "I tried to be there for him. When he was acutely depressive it was a very difficult time because he lacked motivation and any hope of improvement."*
A really sad thing to happen.
Committing suicide because of fear of failure. Someone recently told me that if it was possible to kill himself, he would have done so...'cos he felt like a failure. How do you help people with such problems? What do you say to them to help them find their way back?
