Enke left farewell note

I tried to be there for him, Teresa Enke said,choking back tears. When he was acutely depressive,it was a difficult time. We thought wed manage everything. We thought with love,we could do it. But you cant.

Teresa Enke said her husband had been afraid that he would lose his sport,our private life, if his illness had become known. In May,the couple adopted a girl who is now eight months old.

Enke died on Tuesday evening when he threw himself before a train near his Hanover home. Police said on Wednesday they had found a suicide note.

Fear of failure

Valentin Markser,a doctor who treated Enke,said the goalkeeper first sought treatment in 2003,when he lost his starting place at Barcelona and developed anxieties and fear of failure. Enke again sought treatment in early October,after developing a mysterious illness. Doctors took several weeks to determine that he had been suffering from a bacterial intestinal infection.

In a suicide note,Enke apologised 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, Markser said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a very personal note to Enkes widow to convey her consternation and compassion, government spokesman Christoph Steegmans said.

Thomas Bach,president of the German Olympic committee,called Enkes death really tragic.

When you see how many blows of destiny he had to overcome in the past years,how he always carried on and stood up,that shows his human qualities. Thats why its that much more tragic that he saw no way out any longer, Bach said.

Germany coach Joachim Loew said the team could not simply go back to business as usual. We lost a friend,we deeply mourn Robert Enke, Loew said. I feel completely empty. He was a great guy. He had incredible respect for others. We will miss him,as a top-class sportsman and an extraordinary man.

Hundreds of Hanover fans paid tribute to Enke at the stadium on Wednesday. Hanover set up a condolence book outside the AWD Arena,and some supporters lit candles and left scarves and shirts in tribute to the goalkeeper.

Enke had not been selected for Saturdays match and Wednesdays game against Ivory Coast in Gelsenkirchen because he had only recently returned from the intestinal infection and had played only two Bundesliga games since then. The illness had kept him sidelined for nine weeks and forced him to miss four Germany games.

Enke made his national team debut in a 1-0 loss to Denmark in March 2007. His last game was a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan on August 12. He also played 196 Bundesliga games.

After Jens Lehmann retired following last years European Championship,Enke was promoted to No 1 for Germany but was slowed by a broken hand.

In Barcelona,one of his former clubs,president Joan Laporta said: I knew him personally and he was a very well educated,correct guy. Barcelona are in mourning over the death of Robert Enke.

Enke first sought help when he was blamed for Barcelonas loss to a second-division team in his debut and was dropped from the first team by then coach Louis van Gaal,now in charge at Bayern Munich.

Enke,who was born in the former East German city of Jena and started his career there,also played for Borussia Moenchengladbach,Benfica,Tenerife and Fenerbahce,which he left after one game because of a hostile reaction by fans over a poor performance. He joined Hanover in 2004.