Thousands gather to honour Germany's Enke

HANOVER, Germany (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of fans joined family, friends and team mates of Robert Enke to pay their last respects to the Germany goalkeeper on Sunday, five days after his suicide shocked the country and soccer fans worldwide.

At a memorial service at the Hanover 96 ground where Enke played his club football, 45,000 people, including Germany team mates and coaches dressed in black, watched as Enke's coffin was placed in the middle of the pitch.

"Robert Enke will never come back to this stadium where he conquered our hearts," Hanover president Martin Kind said in a brief speech. "You were a number one in the real sense of the word. This is why our hearts are so heavy."

Enke took his own life at the age of 32, throwing himself in front of a train on Tuesday after battling depression for years.

Fans in Germany and across the world were deeply touched by his death, which came three years after his own daughter had died, aged two, because of a heart problem.

His wife Teresa cried as she stood in front of a coffin that had been covered in white flowers, with a string quartet adding to the sombre mood on a crisp and sunny day. The pair had adopted a baby girl in May.

Thousands more stood in silence outside the stadium as candles and flowers covered the entrance to the club offices. As the coffin was driven away, the anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' was sung amid roaring applause.

BENFICA CAPTAIN

Enke, who had been suffering from depression since 2003, made his breakthrough at Borussia Moenchengladbach and went on to captain Benfica in Portugal before having an unsuccessful spell at Barcelona.