Nov 12, 2009, 13:24 GMT
Hamburg - Tens of thousands of people are expected for a memorial service for Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke who committed suicide on Tuesday.
Germany's national team will attend the service to be held at the Hanover team's stadium on Sunday, football federation DFB said Thursday.
The DFB called off Saturday's friendly international against Chile following Enke's suicide on Tuesday evening. Federation president Theo Zwanziger said football needed to pause for reflection.
However the match against Ivory Coast in Gelsenkirchen next Wednesday will go ahead as planned, and the German squad will begin preparations in Dusseldorf following the service for Enke. Captain Michael Ballack, coach Joachim Loew, Zwanziger and other football officials attended a church service for Enke in Hanover on Wednesday evening.
Around 35,000 people also took part in a silent procession in the city for the Hanover keeper and club captain. Hanover club officials said they expected tens of thousands for Sunday's commemorative service at the AWD Arena.
A funeral, at which family and friends will attend, will be held near Enke's home.
Enke, 32, who had been treated for depression since 2003, was killed by a train on a level crossing near his home.
His widow Teresa said Wednesday he had tried to keep his illness from becoming public out of fear of both losing his adoptive daughter Leila and risking his playing career.
The couple had lost their daughter Lara who died in 2006 of a rare heart condition when she was just two.
Zwanziger and other of the game's senior officials indicated they would be considering ways to improve psychological care for players.
The German Football League DFL said it would be examining what steps to take,
Although several clubs have taken steps to deal with the issue, the employment of a psychologist is not a requirement of licensing regulations, DFL chief executive Holger Hieronymus told German Press Agency dpa.
'Depression should not be a taboo subject,' he said.
Another top German international, Sebastian Deisler, quit the game two years ago at the age of 27 after being treated for depression. His former club, Bayern Munich, are one of the few in the Bundesliga to employ a psychologist.
Hanover 96 manager Joerg Schmadtke told the Norddeutsche Rundfunk radio station: 'The Robert Enke tragedy gives us cause to think about certain things which are accepted as usual in this business.'
Around 4 million people in Germany are believed to be suffering from depression with doctors saying the illness is often not understood or treated with sympathy by others.
'Depression is often under-estimated and placed somewhere between a cold and something which is all in the mind. In reality it is a life-threatening illness,' said Professor Ulrich Hergerl of Leipzig University Clinic.
The decision to call off Saturday's match against Chile had been taken following consultations with the players who made it clear they were in no position to play, DFB general-secretary Wolfgang Niersbach told dpa.
'They are not ice-cold millionaires who have become internationals. This is nothing to do with wages, status, stardom. They have lost a friend,' he said.
The players, who had been unaware of Enke's depression, were emotionally affected and 'each is asking himself, did I miss something?' he added.
Although it is believed the decision to cancel Saturday's match against Chile will cost the DFB some 5 million euros (7.5 million dollars), Niersbach said the financial aspect was unimportant.
Around 37,000 tickets had been sold for the match in Cologne, but all will be refunded. The federation hopes it might still be able to arrange a friendly against Chile shortly before next year's World Cup, depending on the draw for the tournament.
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