German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who also played in Turkey, even if only for one game, took his place in history as the protagonist of one of the saddest stories of green fields.
Goalkeepers are the loneliest people on football fields. A final fulcrum for their team in front of the three posts, goalkeepers must reassure their teammates who turn and look behind them. A goalkeeper has no one to turn to. German goalkeeper Robert Enke He was a person who could not resist this loneliness and ended his life in the grip of depression.
Robert, who opened his eyes as the third child of the Enke family in Germany on August 24, 1977, originally started football as an attacking player, but his youth coaches realized that the young Robert was standing on the wrong side of the field. Enke’s goalkeeping journey and thus it began.
In fact, Enke’s career had started quite brightly.
Enke, who started his career with an athlete and a supportive family and supportive coaches, is quite a talented goalkeeper managed to attract attention. in 1996 Carl Zeiss Jena Enke, who was promoted to the A team at the age of 18, started to rise step by step from there.
After that season, he made his first transfer and to Borussia Mönchengladbach was transferred. Here he had the chance to become a first goalkeeper after waiting for a backup for two years. Although the team had a terrible season and was relegated that season, Enke managed to attract attention with his performance.
German manager who took over SL Benfica Jupp Heynecks, first transferred Enke. Not only that, Heynecks also made the young goalkeeper the captain of the team.
Enke, who joined the team during a difficult period of Benfica, finished the league in 6th place that season. He also worked with Jose Mourinho and he played for the first time in the UEFA Cup, as it was then called. Although things were not going well for Benfica, Enke was gaining attention with his performance.
And then the Barcelona days began.
Despite Benfica’s failure and a trophy-free season, Enke Arsenal, Manchester United and Atlético Madrid was placed on the transfer list. The player, whose contract expired in June 2002, has fulfilled the dream of almost every football player and FC BarcelonaHe transferred to .
On the other hand, Barcelona is not known as a team where you can get much support if you don’t agree once. Enke’s first match was against 3rd Division team Novelda FC in the Spanish Cup. While Barça lost the match 3-2, the defender at the end of the match Frank de Boerciting Enke as responsible for this defeat.
Afterwards, Enke was only able to play for 20 minutes in the league. In the Champions League, the Spanish team Club Bruges And to Galatasaray He took part in the castle in the victories against him and appeared on the field for the first time in the Champions League.
The famous one-game Fenerbahçe adventure also coincided with the end of this period.
When Frank Rijkaard took over Barcelona, the new president Rustu Recber, which Joan Laporta used as her election promise He was recruited as the team’s first goalkeeper. Enke, who became the third goalkeeper, was rented to the yellow-dark blue team for 1 year.
Enke, who first went to the goal in the friendly match played with Kocaelispor, played his first official match with Fenerbahçe in the first week of the league. Fenerbahce, Istanbulspor in the match played on August 10. 3-0 While he was defeated, Enke was also blamed for the defeat.
Although it was believed for a long time that Enke was fired after this match, the situation was different. In fact, Enke went to Daum, the coach of the time. you don’t want to stay on the team he had said. Daum later expressed his regret about this in his book.
Barcelona, this time Enke to the lower league team to Tenerife hired, but Enke performed top notch here. end of season Hanover 96 He returned to Germany once again, saying yes to his team’s offer. He didn’t need to think about this decision because his wife Teresa was pregnant.
A bold decision proved to be the breaking point for Enke.
In fact, things were going well for Enke on the field and Hanover 96 His performance in the matches he played with his jersey made the eyes turn to him once again. However, things were about to go off the rails in his private life. During Teresa’s pregnancy, doctors had told the Enke couple that their child might be born sick and advised them to abort the child.
Robert and Teresa did not accept this offer and they had a daughter named Lara. Little Lara couldn’t stand the surgeries she had and the intense treatments she was subjected to. September 17, 2006He died in , when he was only 2 years old.
Enke, who put his daughter in the ground with his hands, gave himself to football. She was still in training the next day of the funeral. 2007-2008 The German goalkeeper, who was selected as the best goalkeeper of the league in the season, continued this performance in the next season and received the second best goalkeeper award in a row and found himself a place in the World Cup squad. Moreover Leila They had also adopted a daughter.
On the other hand, Enke in the grip of depression was writhing. Robert, who did not listen to his doctors who advised him to be hospitalized, was afraid of losing his adopted daughters if he was hospitalized. Enke, who goes on long walks alone and usually finishes these walks at his daughter’s grave, went to his daughter’s grave one day after such a walk.
When you leave the grave enkeHe returned to his car and left a letter. Then he threw himself on the train tracks, on November 10, 2009 ended his life. Enke apologized to his wife in his last letter.
After the event was heard, Hannover 96 fans gathered at the stadium and created a diary. to the funeral 40 thousand people Joining Enke, he left the stadium on the shoulders of his teammates. Enke was buried next to his daughter.
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