Robert Enke’s career was marked by a string of highs and lows, doors that opened promisingly and then shut unexpectedly.
Born in the town of Jena, in the former East Germany, he seemed headed for a stable if unglamorous existence in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), like many of his compatriots.
He was 12 when opportunity knocked for the first time and the Berlin Wall came down. A year later Germany was unified and suddenly he could pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer.
At 18 he made his debut for the local side, Carl Zeiss Jena, whom he joined aged 9. He played only a handful of matches before being snapped up by Borussia M?nchengladbach in the summer of 1996.
M?nchengladbach may have been fallen giants, but at least they were on the big stage. He completed his two-year “apprenticeship” as a back-up before becoming a regular in 1998. By this time he was playing for the Germany under-21 side and some were comparing him to Oliver Kahn.
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Despite some excellent performances, his club were relegated and he was put up for sale. He moved to Benfica, the first German No 1 in the Portuguese league — it was a gamble as a promising goalkeeper was not meant to leave the Bundesliga for a smaller league, especially after only a single season as a regular.
Enke played for three seasons at the Est?dio Da Luz in a team sliding towards mediocrity as Porto rose to prominence. He wanted more; being average did not satisfy. And so he joined Barcelona in a shock move in the summer of 2002. He was told the place was his to win, if he could see off the competition from Roberto Bonano, the Argentina goalkeeper, and Víctor Vald?s, the local boy.
Enke failed to do so, spending a year on the bench, at the end of which he told himself that he needed to play.
Barcelona loaned him out to Fenerbahçe, who were coached by Christoph Daum, his countryman, but things went from bad to worse. In the first game of the season, Fenerbahçe were beaten 3-0 at home by Istanbulspor. The supporters were furious and the new goalkeeper was the most convenient target.
After the second goal went in they began pelting him with coins, lighters and bottles. Enke walked into Daum’s office the next day and told him he would never play for the club again.
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Barcelona sent him on loan to Tenerife in January 2004 but, again, he failed to make his mark. After conceding five goals in his final game for the club he returned to Barcelona and told them he was ready to cancel his contract. It meant turning his back on a lot of money but it was worth it. “Sometimes, if you want to move forward, you have to first take a step back,” he said.
He returned to Germany, to Hanover 96, a mid-table Bundesliga side. The upturn was immediate. In 2004-05, his first season back, his fellow professionals voted him into the team of the season and in March 2007, at 29, he won his first cap for Germany. The next season he was named Hanover captain and, after Euro 2008, he seemed poised to establish himself as Germany’s No 1.
Joachim L?w, the Germany coach, announced that he would start against Azerbaijan and Russia in September, two World Cup qualifying matches. This was his chance to make the position his own.
And then the window of opportunity shut without warning. He succumbed to a bacterial infection two days before the Azerbaijan match and was forced to pull out. “He’s a fighter, he’ll get his chance,” L?w said.
Enke returned to full fitness last month and was hoping to be called up for Saturday’s scheduled friendly match against Chile, but was left out. L?w told him to wait a bit longer for his opportunity. It was just another door closing, but another was going to open soon. Except, this time, Enke would not be there to step through it.