Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke’s memorial, burial set for Sunday near his home

Goalkeeper Robert Enke’s funeral set for Sunday

FRANKFURT — Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke will be buried in a small ceremony near his home Sunday following a stadium memorial service for the player whose suicide has shaken the country.

The entire national team will attend the service, the German soccer federation said, and will be joined by former coaches Juergen Klinsmann and Rudi Voeller, along with other players. Enke, who played for Hannover, will be buried near Neustadt, outside Hannover, the team said.

The 32-year-old goalie took his own life Tuesday evening when he stepped in front of a train near his Hannover home. His wife, Teresa, went on national television a day later to say her husband had been suffering from depression for six years but did not want it known.

“It was a free decision by Mrs. Enke. I think she wanted to make the public aware of this subject,” Hannover club president Martin Kind said. “We must learn how to open ourselves.”

Kind spoke after attending a religious service Wednesday evening with Teresa Enke, some Hannover players, Germany coach Joachim Loew, national team captain Michael Ballack, soccer federation president Theo Zwanziger and hundreds of Hannover citizens. Later, about 35,000 people took part in a silent march to city’s stadium.

In a country riveted by soccer, Enke’s death has prompted a debate about whether players receive sufficient psychological support.

“The tragedy of Robert Enke gives us cause to think about certain things that are usual and taken for granted in football,” said Hannover general manager Joerg Schmadtke, a former goalkeeper. “We have to discuss the care of these young people.”

Teresa Enke said her husband had kept his depression secret from the public because had had been afraid the couple’s adopted 8-month-old daughter would be taken away from then if his illness were known. The couple’s biological daughter died of a heart ailment when she was 2 in 2006.

In a suicide note, Enke apologized to his family and the staff treating him for deliberately misleading them into believing he was better, which was “necessary in order to carry out the suicide plans,” said Valentin Markser, the doctor who treated him.

Enke’s ailment was not known to his teammates or coaches.

“Robert played a perfect role, he misled the public perfectly,” Schmadtke said. “By doing that he took away the possibility for us to help him.”

Enke’s longtime goalkeeping coach, Joerg Sievers, said depression was a taboo subject in soccer.

“Depression is surely seen in some places as a weakness,” Sievers said.

The union of professional soccer players urged more psychological support for players. Some Bundesliga clubs already employ full-time psychologists, as does the national team.

Enke had a good chance of being Germany’s starting goalkeeper at next year’s World Cup in South Africa. He is the second Germany player known to have suffered from depression. Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Deisler quit soccer in January 2007 after several bouts of depression and five knee operations.

The German soccer federation canceled an exhibition game scheduled for Saturday in Cologne against Chile. After attending the service Sunday, the team will gather in Duesseldorf to prepare for Wednesday’s exhibition against Ivory Coast.