Robert Enke

Youth career

Enke began playing football from an early age, initially playing as a striker, before making the switch to goalkeeper, where he displayed obvious talent. He joined Carl Zeiss Jena in 1985 after an impressive performance while playing against them in a youth team match for SV Jenapharm. He rose through the youth ranks at the club, and in 1993, he played for the Germany under-15 national team against England at Wembley Stadium. The game finished 0–0, with Enke receiving praise for multiple saves made throughout the match. At the age of 17, Enke signed his first professional contract with Carl Zeiss Jena.

Early career

Enke worked his way up to the first team at Carl Zeiss Jena during the 1995–96 season. He made his professional debut on 11 November 1995, against future club Hannover 96 in the 2. Bundesliga. He was given the opportunity after the club suffered two consecutive fiascos against Duisburg and Bochum, prompting coach Eberhard Vogel to drop the former first-choice goalkeeper Mario Neumann for the youngster Enke. Enke played three games during November 1995, but Neumann was restored to the team after this period and Enke did not appear for the first team again that season. The goalkeeper actually would never play for the club again as he was signed by Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer of 1996. Enke spent his first two seasons here with the club's U-23 side, playing in the lower leagues, as well as for the Under-21…

Enke first represented his country in 1997 whilst playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning a place in the German Under-21 side and retained the number one jersey for the remainder of the season, playing 15 times in total. His performances there convinced former national team coach Erich Ribbeck to include him in the squad for the 1999 Confederations Cup, although he did not feature in any games. His international career then stalled when he left Germany and he was not considered again until his return to the Bundesliga. The growing acclaim he enjoyed after saw him in contention for the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, under Jürgen Klinsmann, although he missed out ultimately. He succeeded in breaking into the squad shortly after, under new coach Joachim Löw, in being chosen for a friendly against Georgia, and, after first choice Jens Lehmann caught the flu, again against Cyprus. He finally made his senior international debut for Germany in a 0–1 friendly defeat to Denmark in Duisburg on 28 March 2007. After further games, he was selected for their Euro 2008 squad which would compete in Austria and Switzerland. Enke was an unused substitute during the tournament that saw Germany finish as runners-up. With the international retirement of previous number one Jens Lehmann at Euro 2008, Enke was poised to make the position his own and played in several World Cup 2010 qualifiers. However, in October 2008, he broke the scaphoid of his left hand while training with the national team…

Enke was born on 24 August 1977 in Jena, where he grew up in a flat in the district of Lobeda. He was the youngest of three children born to Dirk Enke, a sports psychologist, and Gisela Enke.

Enke was married to former modern pentathlete Teresa Reim and had a daughter who was born with a heart birth defect (hypoplastic left heart syndrome). She was also rendered deaf by the drugs used to treat her heart problems. Her cochlear implant surgery was successful but she died in 2006 due to complications of her heart defects. In May 2009, they adopted a baby girl. Enke lived with his family on a small farm in Empede, near Neustadt am Rübenberge. Enke and his wife were involved in several animal rights campaigns and they owned many pets.