Robert Enke, the goalkeeper of the German national football team, was found dead yesterday after reportedly jumping from a railway bridge into the path of a train.
Enke played in a league game for his club Hannover 96 only last weekend. He had missed Germany’s last four international games, though, after suffering a stomach infection. He had also been overlooked in selection for two games to be played this month against Chile and Ivory Coast.
Nevertheless he was regarded by Joachim L?w, coach of the national team, as the country’s No 1 goalkeeper and was expected to play in the football World Cup in South Africa next year. The 32-year-old had been regarded as a natural successor to Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann — two