A year gone by and still the photos of Robert & Lara (contrasted with the photos of their grave) touch me deeply Fate hits shots that no goalkeeper can save - I guess Robert was too much the perfectionist - too sensitive a man - to be able to accept he wasn't to blame ? Teresa Enke is an inspiration - she seems (in spite of her immense losses) to refuse to let Robert & Lara be defined in tragic terms, to recognise the happiness they had & what beautiful gifts they were to her and to the world; to accept (as the quotation from Vaclav Havel suggests we do) that there is meaning even when lives are cut cruelly short. The meaning I find (and this comforts me whenever I feel sad about Robert and his daughter - and the sadness in life generally) is knowing that they loved each other so much and that they had such happy times together. In football terms, the final result may have said they lost (but we all lose the game of life in the end) but when they were together (teammates, soulmates) they played 'the game' in the right spirit (of love hope and joy).
I thought I'd add something to this thread. I have just been reading Ronald Reng's book A Life Too Short - it is excellently written and difficult to put down. Unless we have been there ourselves, none of us can really know what a professional sportsperson has to cope with - more so if you are a quiet man like Robert Enke who found himself having to cope with so much. The chapters that cover the short life of little Lara are positively heartbreaking.
RIP Robert. I hope that you and Lara feel better now, where ever you are. You'll always be our Number 1!
Some good pieces. http://bundesligalounge.blogspot.com/2011/11/robert-enke-life-too-short.html http://bundesligafanatic.com/?p=7462
Thanks FR. I bought A Life Too Short a couple of weeks ago, and can only recommend it. Beautifully written, it tells the story in an insightful and informative way without ever becoming sentimental. RIP Robert.
After her little child and her husband, Mrs. Enke also lost her brother on 12/21/2011. What a tragedy her life is.
Herr Robert Enke I still repeatedly remember Hertha v 96 heavy snow icy pitch 10 NOV 2007. You were a great fighter with a great passion. Ein Torwart, I still miss you.
When it 'Rains it Pours" , How and why the world functions like that..and only for some people..beats me! Rest in peace "Robert" , he was as solid as they come...maybe even a notch "Higher" in ranks!
http://m.calciomercato.it/news/2868...-biermann-il-difensore-si-toglie-la-vita.html Biermann takes his life.
Still sad to read this after 5 years. I wonder if Neuer would have gotten the adulation he does if Robert were still around.