Exhibition Game Postponed Due To Death Of German Goalkeeper

Chile's soccer federation (ANFP) agreed Wednesday to cancel the national team's exhibition match against Germany after the death of German goalkeeper Robert Enke.

The match, slated for Saturday in the German city of Cologne, was postponed at the request of the German football federation after players expressed their inability to focus on the game so soon after the death of their teammate.

“Our players said they need time to get over the pain of Robert's death, so we concluded that it was best to call off the game,” German Football Federation spokesman Theo Zwanziger said after announcing the cancellation. “We thank Chile for agreeing to postpone the game. They (The ANFP) told us that they would do exactly the same in our position.”

German goalkeeper Enke, 32, was struck by a train on Tuesday. His suicide comes after fighting a six-year battle against depression.

German goal keeper Robert Enke played for his country eight times. His suicide has forced the postponement of Chile's exhibition soccer game against Germany in Cologne this Saturday. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Although first diagnosed with the illness in 2003, Enke's case worsened after the death of his two-year-old daughter Lara three years ago. His wife Teresa said Wednesday that Enke feared their adopted daughter Leila would be taken from him if his illness became public.

An ANFP statement expressed sadness over the reasons behind the game's cancellation. “We immediately agreed to postpone the game once we became aware of the enormous tragedy of Robert Enke's death,” it read.

The game was seen as important in preparing Chile's national team “La Roja” for next year’s World Cup. Germany is ranked the fifth best team in the world, 12 places ahead of Chile.

Chile last month qualified for the 2010 competition in South Africa after beating Columbia and Ecuador to finish second the in the South American qualifying group (ST, Oct. 15). It is the first time in 12 years the team will attend the prestigious tournament.

President Michelle Bachelet hailed La Roja's success as a “gift for the nation” (ST, Oct. 12).
La Roja's next game will be against Slovakia on Nov. 17. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. Chilean time in the Slovakian city of Zilina.

SOURCE: COOPERATIVA.CL, FIFA.COM, ANFP.CL, BBC.COM
By James Fowler ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )