The tragic story of the German soccer goalkeeper who played for Barcelona: his relationship with Mourinho and the reason for his end

It will be the first opportunity to certify the pass to the round of 16, although it will be in a cursed stadium for the Catalans since 2020. There they received the worst European humiliation in their recent history, a scandalous 2-8 against Bayernwhich at that time was directed precisely by the now Blaugrana coach, Hansi Flick.

A wound that bled again in 2021 when the Blaugrana, then with Xavi Hernández on the bench, fell 3-0 in the first phase against the local team in their last visit to Lisbon, the city of a team that several footballers have worn in the history of Barcelona. Nélson Semedo, Simão Sabrosa, Javier Saviola, André Gomes, Nolito, Geovanni or Robert Enke They are some of the players who donned the jerseys of both teams.

Enke, a goodbye that shocked the football planet

Remembered is the tragic story of the German, who also wore the shirt of his country’s team eight times. Robert Enke tiptoed through Barcelona before taking his own life on November 10, 2009. He died at 32 years old when he was playing for Hannover 96, in a fatal accident that hours later was officially confirmed as a suicide.

The goalkeeper, who also played for Tenerife, He took his own life by throwing himself onto the train tracks. at a level crossing near his home in Neustadt. Behind him hid an incompatible struggle. That of being the best and that no one realizes that he was a victim of a disease as destructive as depression. the book A life too shortof the German journalist and writer, Ronald Reng and presented a month ago in Spain clarifies the reasons that led the elite athlete to make that decision.

His time at Barça, where he failed to settle, was marked by suffering and criticism. Robert Enke played only four games for the Barça club. He was the first signing of the entity for the 2002-2003 season. He arrived with the letter of freedom from Benficabut he was on the club’s agenda since he played for Borussia Mönchengladbach (1996-1999).

Reng reveals that The German signed for Barça on Mourinho’s recommendation and that this period marked the beginning of his personal collapse: “He did not have a single friend, he clung to the idea that everything was going against him and rumors reached him that Valdés was a starter because he was Catalan.”

His mental health worsened in 2006 after the death of his daughter

He made his debut on July 26 in Thonon-les-Bains, against Grenoble Foot 38. He played the first half and did not concede a goal. The presence of three goalkeepers in the squad – him, Bonano and Valdes– made Louis Van Gaalat that time Blaugrana coach, made them all play during the preseason, finally choosing the youth player to start the official competition.

The German got the opportunity in the Cup, on September 11, but it began with a defeat in Novelda (3-2) and the KO relegated him to the background. «He blamed himself exaggeratedly and felt very alone when Frank de Boer criticized him for his performance during a press conference. “He got the wrong idea about what they thought of him in the locker room,” his biography notes.

He did not repeat between the three sticks until October 29, against Bruges, in the Champions League (0-1), a match in which Barça had nothing at stake as they were already in the next phase. He returned to the frame on November 13, in the last game of the first league, in which the team, likewise, had nothing at stake (3-1).

He played a couple of friendlies against Benfica and Cádiz and the expulsion of Bonano in Pamplona opened the doors of the League, but conceded two goals (2-2). He was in the friendly against Lorca and against Al Atthihad (5-0), on April 2, 2003, he defended the Catalan team for the last time. At the end of the season he was loaned to Turkish club Fenerbahçe. His mental health worsened in 2006 after the death of his two-year-old daughter, who died from serious heart problems.

“Robbi should not only be remembered with melancholy and sadness,” declared his widow Teresa, who manages the Robert Enke Foundation organizing mental health days, in ‘Bild’. «He could be very happy. And he had a dark sense of humor, we laughed a lot together. Was his illness that led to his death», noted the widow of the international goalkeeper with Germany.

Throughout his career Robert Enke played for Carl Zeiss Jena (1995-1996), Borussia Mönchengladbach (1996-1999), Benfica (1999-2002), Barcelona (2002-2003), Fenerbahçe (2003), Tenerife (2004) and Hannover 96 (2004-2009).