Evening Ticker: German keeper Enke dies, Real Madrid falls and more

 

Hannover 96 and German national team goalkeeper Robert Enke has died of an apparent suicide after being hit by a train.

A recent member of the German national team, Enke had reportedly struggled to cope with the death of his two-year old daughter, who died from a heart ailment in 2006.

Enke had missed recent matches for the German national team due to a bacterial infection, but did play in Hannover 96's recent 2-2 tie vs. Hamburg on Sunday.

Enke was previously on the books with FC Barcelona and Fenerbahce.

In other soccer news from Tuesday:

Real Madrid knocked out of Copa Del Rey. After an embarrassing 4-0 loss in its Copa Del Rey match against third-division Alcorcon, Real Madrid needed to erase a four-goal margin in the return leg at the Bernabeu. The powerhouse club managed to erase just one goal against the tiny opponent, giving Alcorcon the series victory and sending the big-spending squad out of the Copa Del Rey.

Dax McCarty re-signed with FC Dallas. The midfielder and recent U.S. men's national team call-up, signed a new deal with McCarty after passing on a pair of European opportunities to return to the MLS club. He enjoyed a career year with the Western Conference club, and his performance, particularly in the second half of the season, has led to being called into the U.S. team's camp ahead of friendlies against Slovakia and Denmark.

Cristiano Ronaldo ruled out of Portugal playoff. The Portuguese Soccer Federation decided that Cristiano Ronaldo is not healthy enough to take part in Portugal's World Cup playoff series vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina. Portugal gave Ronaldo a medical examination and determined his injured ankle had not recovered enough to be considered. Portugal faces Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday, with the second leg of their World Cup playoff on Nov. 18.

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What do you think of these stories? Still stunned at the Enke news? Did you enjoy watching Real Madrid struggle? Think Portugal can beat Bosnia-Herzegovina without Ronaldo?

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