![]() The result was one of the most remarkable sports books ever written, by Robert’s friend the German journalist Ronald Reng, with whom he had planned to write a revelatory autobiography post-retirement. What followed Robert’s death was an attempt to make sense of his illness which he had kept secret from all but a small circle. At one point in our conversation Teresa searches for the right word in English to describe how she sees Robert’s legacy for all those who suffer mental illness, and she alights on “martyr” – a strange choice, she confesses, but in some ways it feels right. Thursday would have been Robert’s 40 th birthday and it is for that reason Teresa has agreed to speak, because his death has been a key factor in changing perceptions about mental health in professional football. He was a devoted husband and father to two daughters, one of whom had died at two from a heart condition, and his death left family and team-mates bereft at the loss of a kind, principled man who suffered two bouts of severe depression in his life, the second proving fatal. Robert Enke was a Germany international, 32 years old, and in contention to be his country’s No 1 at the 2010 World Cup finals when, on Nov 10, 2009, he took his own life – a death that was shattering for German football, and front page news around the world. ![]() Teresa Enke is certain what her late husband Robert would be doing now were he still alive: coaching goalkeepers at Benfica and living in Lisbon with his family where some of the happiest times of his life were spent. ![]()
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