Germany's number one goalkeeper, 32-year-old Robert Enke, has committed suicide in the northern city of Hannover. He leaves behind his wife and adopted daughter, after the couple lost a biological child in 2006 when she was just 2 years old.
Germany's national team manager Oliver Bierhoff said: "We are in a state of shock. It is beyond words." Enke had been recently struck down with a virus but had returned to his club, Hannover 96, over the weekend.
Germany's national coach Joachim Loew had already indicated that Enke would get the call up for the team's World Cup effort next year in South Africa. Enke played 8 games for his country, and was awarded the Bundesliga keeper of the season 08-09.
