FACTBOX - Facts on goalkeeper Robert Enke who died on Tuesday

Lit candles are placed at the railway crossing of the northern German village of Eilvese near Hanover November 10, 2009. Germany and Hanover 96 goalkeeper Robert Enke died on Tuesday after being hit by a train in an apparent suicide.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany and Hanover 96 goalkeeper Robert Enke died on Tuesday after being hit by a train in an apparent suicide. Here are some facts on Enke:

* Enke was born on August 24, 1977 in Jena, former East Germany. He started his youth career at Jena Pharm before moving on to Carl Zeiss Jena.

* The keeper joined Borussia Moenchengladbach in 1996 before moving on to Benfica Lisbon in the first of several largely unsuccessful stints abroad that also included Barcelona, Fenerbahce and Tenerife.

* He returned to the Bundesliga in 2004, signing for Hanover 96.

* His two-year-old daughter died of a heart ailment in 2006.

* In May he and his wife Teresa adopted a two-month old child.

* Enke made his first appearance for Germany in March 2007 in their 1-0 defeat to Denmark. He won a total of eight caps, his last in Germany's 2-0 win against Azerbaijan in Baku in August.

* He was ruled out of Germany's last three 2010 World Cup qualifiers with a stomach virus but was still regarded as a front-runner for inclusion in the World Cup squad next year.

* Enke, repeatedly urged to leave Hanover and join a bigger club to improve his chances of becoming Germany keeper, was linked with a possible move to Bayern Munich in the summer.

* His last Bundesliga match was a 2-2 draw against Hamburg on Sunday.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Tony Jimenez. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)