Per Mertesacker writes emotional blog about former team-mate Robert Enke on the eighth anniversary of his suicide: 'He positively influenced my life like no other colleague'
- Robert Enke committed suicide by standing in front of a train in November, 2009
- Ex-Barcelona goalkeeper suffered from depression after death of his daughter
- Per Mertesacker has written a heartfelt blog about his friend and old team-mate
- The Arsenal defender says Enke 'gave me his trust' during their time at Hannover
Per Mertesacker has paid an emotional tribute to his former friend and team-mate Robert Enke on the eighth anniversary of his tragic suicide.
Ex-Benfica goalkeeper Enke took his own life at the age of 32 when, on November 10, 2009, he stepped out in front of a train in Neustadt am Rubenberge in Germany.
Enke, who was a Germany international and had also played for Barcelona and Borussia Monchengladbach, suffered with depression following the death of his daughter, Lara, from a heart condition in 2006.
Per Mertesacker (R) celebrates with Robert Enke after a win for Hannover in December 2005
Enke gestures while in goal for Germany less than three months before he committed suicide
Mertesacker had just broken into the Hannover team when Enke joined the club on a permanent deal from Barca in 2004.
And the Arsenal defender, who also played alongside Enke for the German national team, has remembered the profound impact his team-mate had on his early career.
Writing in a guest contribution for Enke's wife Theresa's blog, Mertesacker admits that the trust the goalkeeper put in helped dispel any doubts he had as an up-and-coming centre back.
Mertesacker wrote: 'I was a 19-year-old freshman who had just completed his first Bundesliga games when Robert entered our locker room at Hannover 96 in the summer of 2004 and greeted me: "Ah, hello, and you're the Per."
'He came from Spain, he had played for FC Barcelona, he was 27, and from the beginning he gave me the feeling that he appreciated me, the rookie. I was the defender, he the goalkeeper: he literally stood behind me.
'He encouraged me, I would go my way, he pointed out my qualities - which one sometimes no longer sees himself as an insecure 19-year-old.
Mertesacker and Michael Ballack carry a wreath during Enke's memorial service at AWD Arena
Mertesacker, pictured in action against Swansea, has paid tribute to Enke in a guest blog post
'He let me feel that he felt safe with me in the defense. I think a more beautiful experience can hardly be done at work, no matter what job you do: he gave me his trust.'
After playing with Enke at Hannover, Mertesacker achieved a personal goal when he linked up with his friend at international level in 2006.
The pair were close, but Mertesacker admits he was stunned to learn of Enke's death as he had never spoken about his battle with depression or suicidal thoughts.
'The news of his death hit me all the harder,' Mertesacker wrote. 'How was it possible that this well-balanced, reflected friend had apparently been so ill that he took his own life?
Enke poses with Barcelona manager Louis van Gaal after signing for the club in July 2002
'How was it possible that I did not notice? And, of course, the question hurt: Why had he never told me about his depression? We were friends who, as they say, told everything.
'I have learned that this concealment belongs to the clinical picture of depression. When people are acutely depressed, many of them seem to want to hide.
'I also understood that Robert spent most of his life the way I met him: rational, of quiet happiness; healthy. Like most sufferers, depression only caught him in short periods of his life.'
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