Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp left Paris Saint-Germain in 2018 without having established himself in his team, but returned to become a mainstay of his former team, Eintracht Frankfurt, on their way to the Europa League final. he is close to his first international title.

“I have only played in one final in my professional career and that was the Coupe de France final (2-0 win over L’Serbiers in 2018), but I have never played in an international final. It’s something special,” Trapp said. said excitedly.

The 31-year-old has regained the leadership role he needed to fully develop. The turning point was early October last year, when his side scored a precious league victory over hosts, Bavarian giants Bayern Munich. An impenetrable dam in front of the Bavarian strikers kept his side in the match until the winning goal scored by his Serbian counterpart Filip Kostic in the 83rd minute.

“This match really made him develop a lot. This remarkable performance, immortal in the history of the confrontation between the two teams, was a turning point for him, ”as the Frankfurt Fats daily newspaper recalled his excellent time-limited performance against the Bavarian club on the eve of the final against Glasgow Rangers on Wednesday in Seville.

– Zlatan –

An emblematic figure for the club, who first joined their ranks in 2012 from Kaiserslautern at the age of 21, Trapp is valued for his always calm yet firm tongue and his ability to handle difficult situations. And if Trapp does not wear an armband, then he is still the “dressing room captain”, as his Austrian coach Oliver Glasner put it.

His aura for teammates comes from his personal talents. Whoever admits that at first in Paris he tried his best not to speak French is now fluent in five languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and a little Italian.

“It helps me communicate better with new players,” he said. “If I can help someone feel better, I will.”

After three years at Paris Saint-Germain (2015–2018), he only played a season and a half before losing his place to Alphonse Areola.

The experience was difficult, but he realized that working daily with people like (Swede) Zlatan Ibrahimovic, (Brazilian) Thiago Silva or (Brazilian) Marquinhos was an opportunity. He stressed that “these players have a lot to learn. It helped me a lot to develop, and now I’m trying to pass on to Frankfurt what I learned there.”

His return to Frankfurt marked a fresh start. “It was important for me to get into a club where I can continue to develop personally. Everyone knows and sees what this club means to me. This environment, the fans, everything we experience here is not found in many clubs.”

– herbal products –

The calmness of this stern professional is brought up through a life outside of football. A motorcycle aficionado, he also founded a vegan food company. “I need other things that distract me from the daily stress and that I can think about,” he said. “Everything that is important for me for the sake of pleasure helps me, in the end, to be better on the field.”

Eintracht Frankfurt ended their season in the Bundesliga in a disappointing position of eleventh, but the team showed their mettle in the Europa League competition by turning the table in the final seconds in three matches (against Greek Olympiacos and Belgian Royal Antwerp in the group stage and Real Betis in second leg of the final price) in his career. Al-Taweel to the final, in addition to a resounding victory over Barcelona 3-2 at Camp Nou in the second leg of the quarter-final. Reach the quarterfinals. Trapp has been fantastic every time, both in his lair and as back line captain.

These talents, both on and off the field, give him the strength to become Germany’s third goalkeeper at the World Cup in Qatar next winter, after Manuel Neuer and Marc-André ter Stegen.

But at the moment he refuses to even deal with this issue. His only horizon is the final against the Rangers.