Thousands pay tribute to Enke

The memorial service for Robert Enke took place today in Hannover’s Niersachsen Stadion, where 45,000 people gathered to pay their respects to the former Hannover and Germany goalkeeper, who took his life last week.

Enke was remembered in the silence of a stadium he was so used to playing in, celebrating the finest moments of his career as a goalkeeper for Hannover.

“Enke will never come into this stadium again, in this place where he stole our hearts as a sportsman, as a lead figure and captain of our team,” said Hannover’s president Martin Kind in a moving tribute to a man who “only had friends”.

“Robert, you were the number one in the real meaning of the word.

“That is why 50,000 people want to honour you, in your city, in your stadium.

“Enke was one of the outstanding personalities of German sport and the only consolation for me is that I had the fortune of working together with him.

“It was a gift that Robert Enke was one of us, but sadly he was taken away far too early.”