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Thursday, November 12, 2009
Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke will be buried on Sunday in a small ceremony near his home following a memorial service at the Hanover stadium.
Enke, 32, committed suicide on Tuesday when he stepped in front of a train near his home in the German city.
The Germany national team are to attend the memorial service in honour of their team-mate, who was batting depression.
Enke's club, Hannover 96, has urged football to do more to help players facing similar difficulties.
His widow, Teresa, went on national television on Wednesday to reveal that her husband had been suffering from depression for six years.
"It was a free decision by Mrs Enke - I think she wanted to make the public aware of this subject," said Hannover club president Martin Kind. "We must learn how to open ourselves."
Kind was speaking after attending a religious service on Wednesday with Enke's widow, some of his teammates, Germany coach Joachim Loew, national team captain Michael Ballack, football federation president Theo Zwanziger and hundreds of Hanover citizens.
Later, about 35,000 people took part in a silent march to city's stadium.
Enke had a good chance of being Germany's first-choice goalkeeper at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The German football federation has cancelled Saturday's friendly against Chile in Cologne but, after attending the memorial service, the team will assemble in Dusseldorf ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Ivory Coast.
source: news.bbc.co.uk
Labels: Sports