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Enke remembered

November 10, 2014

Five years ago, German goalkeeper Robert Enke took his own life. A museum exhibition in Hanover remembers his life, but also challenges the lack of progress on the issue of depression in sport.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Dk6R
Robert Enke exhibition
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Julian Stratenschulte

Five years after the suicide death of German goalkeeper Robert Enke, the state of Lower Saxony is holding a five day special exhibition celebrating Enke's life. The title of the exhibition is "Commemorating Robert: our friend and goalkeeper."

Together with various memorabilia from Enke's footballing career - which included stops at clubs like Carl-Zeiss Jena, Benfica and Barcelona - one part of the exhibition shows commemorative messages from football fans sent to Enke, after his death.

Robert Enke
Robert Enke played around the world at many clubs and eight times for Germany's national teamImage: Getty Images

Enke, who had been a long-time sufferer of depression, took his own life on November 10, 2009, at the age of 32.

"Hello Robert, you were my idol," is written on small goalkeeper gloves, in children's handwriting. Some 10 centimeters away are official condolence letters from Angela Merkel and FIFA boss Sepp Blatter.

Niersbach: "No big changes"

Since the death of Enke, his wife Teresa has set up the Robert-Enke charity, which works to highlight the issue of psychological illness. The charity has been partnered with the German Football Association, the DFB, since 2010.

"We have already achieved a lot," said Teresa Enke, "especially by setting up an advice service. That is a big step forward. Robert and I were very much alone back then."

"Elite sport should stay elite sport," Teresa Enke said. "But it is great that coaches are now taught about how to observe players for mental illness and how to offer them help."

Wolfgang Niersbach DFB
Wolfgang Niersbach says that more can be done to help deal with the issue of mentally ill playersImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Fredrik von Erichsen

But DFB boss Wolfgang Niersbach admits that - even after five years - "no big changes" are visible, in the way that players' mental illness are dealt with in German football.

"We keep seeing situations, where we overstep healthy football rivalry," said Niersbach, adding that fans in the stadium often don't behave as they should.

Enke's suicide though, according to Niersbach, has helped people realize that depression is not a weakness, but rather a type of illness. For that reason Niersbach sees that keeping Enke's memory alive is very important. In that he praised Enke's widow, Teresa, for what he dubbed as her "amazing work."

al/ sm (dpa, SID)