Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Neuer edging ahead in German goalkeeping race
Germany have not had it easy when it comes to picking a starting goalkeeper for this year’s World Cup.
Robert Enke, who was first choice going into the last three World Cup qualifiers, committed suicide in November and it is still unclear who will stake a claim to being the long-term successor to Jens Lehmann.
Following Enke’s death, Schalke’s Manuel Neuer, Bayer Leverkusen’s Rene Adler and Tim Wiese from Werder Bremen have been in contention for the spot.
Loew recently crowned Adler as the man to beat but the keeper failed to repay the coach’s trust with an error-ridden performance in Germany’s 1-0 loss to Argentina earlier this month. Then came two consecutive Bundesliga matches where Adler, 25, was directly responsible for letting in goals. Suddenly his starting spot looks far from certain.
Football mourns loss of a great talent and a modest man
Robert Enke had none of the extrovert qualities associated with the great goalkeepers in German football folklore, larger than life figures such as Sepp Maier and Oliver Kahn.
He didn’t quite reach the same levels of achievement on the field either but this modest man will certainly be remembered as a great talent.
Final tragedy for Robert Enke
Germany and Hanover 96 goalkeeper Robert Enke has died after being hit by a train in an apparent suicide, local police said on Tuesday.
“First indications point to suicide,” a media officer for the Niedersachsen police told Reuters before adding that Enke’s body was found at a train crossing some 25-km northeast of Hanover.
