RIO DE JANEIRO — Manuel Neuer is the latest in a line of German goalkeepers regarded by many as the best in the world. German soccer fans often reminisce about the greatness of Sepp Maier and Harald Schumacher and Oliver Kahn, and if Neuer helps Germany win the World Cup final on Sunday, his place in history — even in the middle of his career — will be secure.

Yet there is also a darker side to the lineage of German goalkeepers, an incident that lingers over German fans and also started Neuer along his current path.

It happened in 2009. Neuer was playing for the German under-21 national team, not even on the radar of Germany Coach Joachim Löw. Löw’s preferred starting goalkeeper as the team headed toward the 2010 World Cup was Robert Enke, a tall, rangy player who spent time with top clubs like Barcelona, Benfica and Fenerbahce before becoming a mainstay at the German club Hannover 96.

On Nov. 10, a Tuesday, Ronald Reng, one of Enke’s close friends and a writer who had been working with Enke on a book, called Enke on his cellphone. Enke was normally friendly and warm, but on this day, Reng recalled in an interview, Enke was brusque and curt. His voice sounded strained.