German players distraught over Enke's death (Extra)

Nov 10, 2009, 19:26 GMT

Bonn (Germany) - The German squad preparing for two friendly internationals has reacted with shock to the announcement that Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke died Tuesday.

The players were informed of the tragic death of the popular Hanover 96 goalkeeper after their first training session by coach Joachim Loew and manager Oliver Bierhoff at their training camp in Bonn.

'We are all shocked, we cannot find words to express how we feel,' Bierhoff said.

Enke played his first game for Germany on March 28 2007 during their 1-0 defeat against Denmark. It was to be his only defeat in the national dress as the team won five and drew two of the seven subsequent matches in which he played.

He last played for his country on August 12 in the 2-0 victory against Azerbaijan.

Enke, whom police said apparently committed suicide early Tuesday evening, was first called into the Germany squad for the 1999 Confederations Cup, but was not fielded in a match by the then coach Erich Ribbeck.

He was next nominated by Loew seven years later, sitting on the bench in Germany's 2-0 victory against Georgia.

The 32-year-old missed Germany's four last internationals due to a bacterial bowel infection, but had just returned to the game and played in Hanover's 2-2 draw against SV Hamburg in the Bundesliga on the weekend.

He had not been selected for Germany's two friendly international matches against Chile and the Ivory Coast on November 14 and November 18, but Loew had indicated that he was favourite to be Germany's first choice goalkeeper at the World Cup finals in South Africa next year.