Nothing learnt from Enke death – Babbel

Former VfB Stuttgart coach Markus Babbel said Monday he believed that nothing had been learnt from the suicide of Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke last month.

Babbel, who was sacked by the struggling Bundesliga side on Sunday, said the pressure put on players by fans now was huge.

And he said he had been particularly shocked by the manner in which the Stuttgart team bus had been set upon by angry fans after their 1-1 draw against Bochum on Saturday.

“Even those considered ‘football millionaires’ don’t deserve that such hate and death threats be thrown in their face,” Babbel told the Suddeutsche Zeitung. “On Saturday there were two players on the pitch from the youth teams who were afraid. The blame falls on the fans.”

Babbel said the death of Hanover player Enke had not changed attitudes.

The 32-year-old, who had been set to travel with the Germany squad to next June’s 2010 World Cup in South Africa, threw himself under a commuter train after having suffered from depression.

“The profession has learnt nothing,” said Babbel.

Meanwhile, Babbel said he hoped that his Stuttgart successor Christian Gross would “find the right button” to turn the team around.

After finishing third in last season’s Bundesliga, Stuttgart are currently 16th with just two wins in 15 games for a total of 12 points.

Paradoxically the team could qualify for the next round of the Champions League if they beat Romanian side Unirea Urziceni on Wednesday.