( CNN ) -- A goalkeeper for the German national soccer team apparently killed himself by stepping in front of a train , just months after he and his wife adopted a daughter , police said Wednesday . Robert Enke , 32 , was captain of the German top-division soccer club Hannover 96 and had played in eight games for his national team . He was widely expected to be the German team 's keeper in the 2010 World Cup . `` Preliminary police investigations indicate a suicide , '' Hannover 96 spokesman Stefan Wittke said . Enke died about 6:25 p.m. Tuesday . His wife Teresa said he left a suicide note . She said her husband had been battling depression for six years but had kept his condition from the public . `` I tried to be there for him , said that football is not everything . There are many beautiful things in life . It is not hopeless , '' she said . The Enkes ' daughter Lara died in 2006 from a heart condition at age 2 . The couple adopted a daughter , Leila , earlier this year . She is 18 months old . Enke feared that if his depression was made public , he might lose Leila , his widow said . `` We had Lara ; we have Leila . I always wanted to help him to get through it . He did n't want it to come out because of fear . He was scared of losing Leila , '' she told reporters . The German national team had an exhibition game scheduled Saturday against Chile , but the team announced it was canceling the match . Theo Zwanziger , president of the German soccer federation , said players `` needed time to come to terms with the death of Enke . '' Enke always said he wanted to play for the national team at the 2010 World Cup , the federation said . `` The leadership of the German national team never had any doubt that he was important for the team both as a goalkeeper and as a human being , '' a statement said . Those who knew him were stunned by news of his death . `` We are in a state of shock , '' team manager Oliver Bierhoff said in a statement . `` It is beyond words . '' Martin Kind , chairman of Hannover 96 , said , `` It is a total catastrophe . I am finding it hard to understand . All I can say for sure is that it had nothing to do with football . '' Fellow players said they believed Enke had been suffering depression , Kind said . Have you lost a loved one to suicide ? Share your memories with CNN iReport . `` He was unstable , '' he said , `` but he kept it under wraps . '' Hundreds of fans and former teammates gathered to lay flowers , light candles and sign a book of condolences outside Hannover 96 's Niedersachsen Stadion . The team 's official Web site has been converted into a single-page memorial . Enke missed Germany 's last four matches because of a bacterial infection , but he had recently returned to action with Hannover . Soccer commentator and journalist Rafael Honigstein said Enke was on course to be picked as the No . 1 choice for the team . `` It 's been well documented that he had a tough time , '' Honigstein said . `` People knew it was a terrible , terrible tragedy for him . ''
Robert Enke , 28 , was expected to start for Germany in 2010 World Cup . Enke 's wife says he suffered from depression for many years . The Enkes lost their daughter Lara , 2 , to a heart attack in 2006 . Germany cancels its exhibition game against France .