Q&A

'The biggest party'

Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp on last night’s Europa League win, that extra-time save, his penalty heroics and stepping up to the Champions League next season

Additional Content

Has the win sunk in yet?

It’s difficult to say if it feels real or not! When we come home with the cup and present it to the fans, we’ll start appreciating what we’ve achieved – including for German football as a whole. We’ve made many people proud and it will start to sink in over the coming days.

Does it feel how you imagined it would?

You imagine so many things, like how you’ll raise the trophy at the end, but you can’t plan these things – you don’t know what will happen. It’s a very rare occasion that you win a trophy like this so we should enjoy everything that comes with winning it now. What we’ve done this year is monumental; everyone who supported us and crossed their fingers for us can be very proud.

What about that save from Ryan Kent in extra time – how did it play out from your perspective?

I  noticed that everyone was running on fumes, there was a lot of cramp around. Rangers got this one last chance, and I just saw that Ryan Kent was unmarked. I thought, “I’ll just try and make myself as big as possible if he shoots.” You need a little bit of luck of course but Kristijan Jakić was there too and he slid in, so we just tried to stop the shot together.  Obviously if you concede the goal in the 119th minute, it’s game over. I got the feeling that a shout went up through the team at that point, that tonight was our night, that we’d earned this trophy and would be taking it home with us.

And you’d expect a German goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shoot-out…

Well, expectation can lead to disappointment occasionally! Of course, the objective is to save at least one. You try to prepare a bit – you try to study how they’ll take them – but in the end it comes down to instinct. That helped me and I managed to do my bit by saving one, and all five of our penalty-takers scored. They were really well-taken penalties too. The tension in that situation, when you know what’s at stake, is not easy to deal with mentally.

Kevin Trapp saves Aaron Ramsey's penalty in the shootout.

When would it have been your turn to take one?

I wouldn’t have volunteered to shoot, but if needed I would have. I did take some in training from time to time and they were alright.

You came back to Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain a few seasons ago. Was it a necessary move for your career?

PSG are a bigger club than Frankfurt – with the players who come to them every year – but I love Eintracht Frankfurt because we play so many games with this euphoria, thanks to the fans we have. You’ve seen how important the fans have been this year. When you win a competition with a club like this, it’s something really special. The whole city stood still; a lot of bosses gave people time off. Our stadium was sold out, with 50,000 at the public viewing. The club always wants to develop and has really grown over the past few years. Now we’ve achieved an absolute high point in the club’s history.

How will the city celebrate?

I honestly don’t know. I saw photos from 2018 when they won the DFB-Pokal [German Cup] – I think it will be even crazier. It’s going to be the biggest party. I think we will see just what it means in the next few years. We’re very proud and will celebrate this trophy with the fans. We can’t wait to share it with them.

Next season you will be in the Champions League. How does that feel?

It’s one of the things that comes with winning the trophy: we’ve won an international title and we’ve qualified for the Champions League. In August we play in the Super Cup against Real Madrid or Liverpool. These things are unbelievably important for the club. To experience them as a footballer and as a fan of the club, it’s beautiful and deserved. We were undefeated in 13 games in the Europa League. Last year we were disappointed about not qualifying for the Champions League, now we will play in it with a trophy under our belt. If we’d qualified then, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with the cup. It happens how it happens – and it happened in the most beautiful way.

Has the win sunk in yet?

It’s difficult to say if it feels real or not! When we come home with the cup and present it to the fans, we’ll start appreciating what we’ve achieved – including for German football as a whole. We’ve made many people proud and it will start to sink in over the coming days.

Does it feel how you imagined it would?

You imagine so many things, like how you’ll raise the trophy at the end, but you can’t plan these things – you don’t know what will happen. It’s a very rare occasion that you win a trophy like this so we should enjoy everything that comes with winning it now. What we’ve done this year is monumental; everyone who supported us and crossed their fingers for us can be very proud.

What about that save from Ryan Kent in extra time – how did it play out from your perspective?

I  noticed that everyone was running on fumes, there was a lot of cramp around. Rangers got this one last chance, and I just saw that Ryan Kent was unmarked. I thought, “I’ll just try and make myself as big as possible if he shoots.” You need a little bit of luck of course but Kristijan Jakić was there too and he slid in, so we just tried to stop the shot together.  Obviously if you concede the goal in the 119th minute, it’s game over. I got the feeling that a shout went up through the team at that point, that tonight was our night, that we’d earned this trophy and would be taking it home with us.

And you’d expect a German goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shoot-out…

Well, expectation can lead to disappointment occasionally! Of course, the objective is to save at least one. You try to prepare a bit – you try to study how they’ll take them – but in the end it comes down to instinct. That helped me and I managed to do my bit by saving one, and all five of our penalty-takers scored. They were really well-taken penalties too. The tension in that situation, when you know what’s at stake, is not easy to deal with mentally.

Kevin Trapp saves Aaron Ramsey's penalty in the shootout.

When would it have been your turn to take one?

I wouldn’t have volunteered to shoot, but if needed I would have. I did take some in training from time to time and they were alright.

You came back to Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain a few seasons ago. Was it a necessary move for your career?

PSG are a bigger club than Frankfurt – with the players who come to them every year – but I love Eintracht Frankfurt because we play so many games with this euphoria, thanks to the fans we have. You’ve seen how important the fans have been this year. When you win a competition with a club like this, it’s something really special. The whole city stood still; a lot of bosses gave people time off. Our stadium was sold out, with 50,000 at the public viewing. The club always wants to develop and has really grown over the past few years. Now we’ve achieved an absolute high point in the club’s history.

How will the city celebrate?

I honestly don’t know. I saw photos from 2018 when they won the DFB-Pokal [German Cup] – I think it will be even crazier. It’s going to be the biggest party. I think we will see just what it means in the next few years. We’re very proud and will celebrate this trophy with the fans. We can’t wait to share it with them.

Next season you will be in the Champions League. How does that feel?

It’s one of the things that comes with winning the trophy: we’ve won an international title and we’ve qualified for the Champions League. In August we play in the Super Cup against Real Madrid or Liverpool. These things are unbelievably important for the club. To experience them as a footballer and as a fan of the club, it’s beautiful and deserved. We were undefeated in 13 games in the Europa League. Last year we were disappointed about not qualifying for the Champions League, now we will play in it with a trophy under our belt. If we’d qualified then, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with the cup. It happens how it happens – and it happened in the most beautiful way.

Read the full story
Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!

Has the win sunk in yet?

It’s difficult to say if it feels real or not! When we come home with the cup and present it to the fans, we’ll start appreciating what we’ve achieved – including for German football as a whole. We’ve made many people proud and it will start to sink in over the coming days.

Does it feel how you imagined it would?

You imagine so many things, like how you’ll raise the trophy at the end, but you can’t plan these things – you don’t know what will happen. It’s a very rare occasion that you win a trophy like this so we should enjoy everything that comes with winning it now. What we’ve done this year is monumental; everyone who supported us and crossed their fingers for us can be very proud.

What about that save from Ryan Kent in extra time – how did it play out from your perspective?

I  noticed that everyone was running on fumes, there was a lot of cramp around. Rangers got this one last chance, and I just saw that Ryan Kent was unmarked. I thought, “I’ll just try and make myself as big as possible if he shoots.” You need a little bit of luck of course but Kristijan Jakić was there too and he slid in, so we just tried to stop the shot together.  Obviously if you concede the goal in the 119th minute, it’s game over. I got the feeling that a shout went up through the team at that point, that tonight was our night, that we’d earned this trophy and would be taking it home with us.

And you’d expect a German goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shoot-out…

Well, expectation can lead to disappointment occasionally! Of course, the objective is to save at least one. You try to prepare a bit – you try to study how they’ll take them – but in the end it comes down to instinct. That helped me and I managed to do my bit by saving one, and all five of our penalty-takers scored. They were really well-taken penalties too. The tension in that situation, when you know what’s at stake, is not easy to deal with mentally.

Kevin Trapp saves Aaron Ramsey's penalty in the shootout.

When would it have been your turn to take one?

I wouldn’t have volunteered to shoot, but if needed I would have. I did take some in training from time to time and they were alright.

You came back to Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain a few seasons ago. Was it a necessary move for your career?

PSG are a bigger club than Frankfurt – with the players who come to them every year – but I love Eintracht Frankfurt because we play so many games with this euphoria, thanks to the fans we have. You’ve seen how important the fans have been this year. When you win a competition with a club like this, it’s something really special. The whole city stood still; a lot of bosses gave people time off. Our stadium was sold out, with 50,000 at the public viewing. The club always wants to develop and has really grown over the past few years. Now we’ve achieved an absolute high point in the club’s history.

How will the city celebrate?

I honestly don’t know. I saw photos from 2018 when they won the DFB-Pokal [German Cup] – I think it will be even crazier. It’s going to be the biggest party. I think we will see just what it means in the next few years. We’re very proud and will celebrate this trophy with the fans. We can’t wait to share it with them.

Next season you will be in the Champions League. How does that feel?

It’s one of the things that comes with winning the trophy: we’ve won an international title and we’ve qualified for the Champions League. In August we play in the Super Cup against Real Madrid or Liverpool. These things are unbelievably important for the club. To experience them as a footballer and as a fan of the club, it’s beautiful and deserved. We were undefeated in 13 games in the Europa League. Last year we were disappointed about not qualifying for the Champions League, now we will play in it with a trophy under our belt. If we’d qualified then, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with the cup. It happens how it happens – and it happened in the most beautiful way.

Q&A

'The biggest party'

Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp on last night’s Europa League win, that extra-time save, his penalty heroics and stepping up to the Champions League next season

Text Link

Has the win sunk in yet?

It’s difficult to say if it feels real or not! When we come home with the cup and present it to the fans, we’ll start appreciating what we’ve achieved – including for German football as a whole. We’ve made many people proud and it will start to sink in over the coming days.

Does it feel how you imagined it would?

You imagine so many things, like how you’ll raise the trophy at the end, but you can’t plan these things – you don’t know what will happen. It’s a very rare occasion that you win a trophy like this so we should enjoy everything that comes with winning it now. What we’ve done this year is monumental; everyone who supported us and crossed their fingers for us can be very proud.

What about that save from Ryan Kent in extra time – how did it play out from your perspective?

I  noticed that everyone was running on fumes, there was a lot of cramp around. Rangers got this one last chance, and I just saw that Ryan Kent was unmarked. I thought, “I’ll just try and make myself as big as possible if he shoots.” You need a little bit of luck of course but Kristijan Jakić was there too and he slid in, so we just tried to stop the shot together.  Obviously if you concede the goal in the 119th minute, it’s game over. I got the feeling that a shout went up through the team at that point, that tonight was our night, that we’d earned this trophy and would be taking it home with us.

And you’d expect a German goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shoot-out…

Well, expectation can lead to disappointment occasionally! Of course, the objective is to save at least one. You try to prepare a bit – you try to study how they’ll take them – but in the end it comes down to instinct. That helped me and I managed to do my bit by saving one, and all five of our penalty-takers scored. They were really well-taken penalties too. The tension in that situation, when you know what’s at stake, is not easy to deal with mentally.

Kevin Trapp saves Aaron Ramsey's penalty in the shootout.

When would it have been your turn to take one?

I wouldn’t have volunteered to shoot, but if needed I would have. I did take some in training from time to time and they were alright.

You came back to Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain a few seasons ago. Was it a necessary move for your career?

PSG are a bigger club than Frankfurt – with the players who come to them every year – but I love Eintracht Frankfurt because we play so many games with this euphoria, thanks to the fans we have. You’ve seen how important the fans have been this year. When you win a competition with a club like this, it’s something really special. The whole city stood still; a lot of bosses gave people time off. Our stadium was sold out, with 50,000 at the public viewing. The club always wants to develop and has really grown over the past few years. Now we’ve achieved an absolute high point in the club’s history.

How will the city celebrate?

I honestly don’t know. I saw photos from 2018 when they won the DFB-Pokal [German Cup] – I think it will be even crazier. It’s going to be the biggest party. I think we will see just what it means in the next few years. We’re very proud and will celebrate this trophy with the fans. We can’t wait to share it with them.

Next season you will be in the Champions League. How does that feel?

It’s one of the things that comes with winning the trophy: we’ve won an international title and we’ve qualified for the Champions League. In August we play in the Super Cup against Real Madrid or Liverpool. These things are unbelievably important for the club. To experience them as a footballer and as a fan of the club, it’s beautiful and deserved. We were undefeated in 13 games in the Europa League. Last year we were disappointed about not qualifying for the Champions League, now we will play in it with a trophy under our belt. If we’d qualified then, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with the cup. It happens how it happens – and it happened in the most beautiful way.

Has the win sunk in yet?

It’s difficult to say if it feels real or not! When we come home with the cup and present it to the fans, we’ll start appreciating what we’ve achieved – including for German football as a whole. We’ve made many people proud and it will start to sink in over the coming days.

Does it feel how you imagined it would?

You imagine so many things, like how you’ll raise the trophy at the end, but you can’t plan these things – you don’t know what will happen. It’s a very rare occasion that you win a trophy like this so we should enjoy everything that comes with winning it now. What we’ve done this year is monumental; everyone who supported us and crossed their fingers for us can be very proud.

What about that save from Ryan Kent in extra time – how did it play out from your perspective?

I  noticed that everyone was running on fumes, there was a lot of cramp around. Rangers got this one last chance, and I just saw that Ryan Kent was unmarked. I thought, “I’ll just try and make myself as big as possible if he shoots.” You need a little bit of luck of course but Kristijan Jakić was there too and he slid in, so we just tried to stop the shot together.  Obviously if you concede the goal in the 119th minute, it’s game over. I got the feeling that a shout went up through the team at that point, that tonight was our night, that we’d earned this trophy and would be taking it home with us.

And you’d expect a German goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shoot-out…

Well, expectation can lead to disappointment occasionally! Of course, the objective is to save at least one. You try to prepare a bit – you try to study how they’ll take them – but in the end it comes down to instinct. That helped me and I managed to do my bit by saving one, and all five of our penalty-takers scored. They were really well-taken penalties too. The tension in that situation, when you know what’s at stake, is not easy to deal with mentally.

Kevin Trapp saves Aaron Ramsey's penalty in the shootout.

When would it have been your turn to take one?

I wouldn’t have volunteered to shoot, but if needed I would have. I did take some in training from time to time and they were alright.

You came back to Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain a few seasons ago. Was it a necessary move for your career?

PSG are a bigger club than Frankfurt – with the players who come to them every year – but I love Eintracht Frankfurt because we play so many games with this euphoria, thanks to the fans we have. You’ve seen how important the fans have been this year. When you win a competition with a club like this, it’s something really special. The whole city stood still; a lot of bosses gave people time off. Our stadium was sold out, with 50,000 at the public viewing. The club always wants to develop and has really grown over the past few years. Now we’ve achieved an absolute high point in the club’s history.

How will the city celebrate?

I honestly don’t know. I saw photos from 2018 when they won the DFB-Pokal [German Cup] – I think it will be even crazier. It’s going to be the biggest party. I think we will see just what it means in the next few years. We’re very proud and will celebrate this trophy with the fans. We can’t wait to share it with them.

Next season you will be in the Champions League. How does that feel?

It’s one of the things that comes with winning the trophy: we’ve won an international title and we’ve qualified for the Champions League. In August we play in the Super Cup against Real Madrid or Liverpool. These things are unbelievably important for the club. To experience them as a footballer and as a fan of the club, it’s beautiful and deserved. We were undefeated in 13 games in the Europa League. Last year we were disappointed about not qualifying for the Champions League, now we will play in it with a trophy under our belt. If we’d qualified then, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with the cup. It happens how it happens – and it happened in the most beautiful way.

Read the full story
Sign up now to get access to this and every premium feature on Champions Journal. You will also get access to member-only competitions and offers. And you get all of that completely free!

Has the win sunk in yet?

It’s difficult to say if it feels real or not! When we come home with the cup and present it to the fans, we’ll start appreciating what we’ve achieved – including for German football as a whole. We’ve made many people proud and it will start to sink in over the coming days.

Does it feel how you imagined it would?

You imagine so many things, like how you’ll raise the trophy at the end, but you can’t plan these things – you don’t know what will happen. It’s a very rare occasion that you win a trophy like this so we should enjoy everything that comes with winning it now. What we’ve done this year is monumental; everyone who supported us and crossed their fingers for us can be very proud.

What about that save from Ryan Kent in extra time – how did it play out from your perspective?

I  noticed that everyone was running on fumes, there was a lot of cramp around. Rangers got this one last chance, and I just saw that Ryan Kent was unmarked. I thought, “I’ll just try and make myself as big as possible if he shoots.” You need a little bit of luck of course but Kristijan Jakić was there too and he slid in, so we just tried to stop the shot together.  Obviously if you concede the goal in the 119th minute, it’s game over. I got the feeling that a shout went up through the team at that point, that tonight was our night, that we’d earned this trophy and would be taking it home with us.

And you’d expect a German goalkeeper to save a penalty in a shoot-out…

Well, expectation can lead to disappointment occasionally! Of course, the objective is to save at least one. You try to prepare a bit – you try to study how they’ll take them – but in the end it comes down to instinct. That helped me and I managed to do my bit by saving one, and all five of our penalty-takers scored. They were really well-taken penalties too. The tension in that situation, when you know what’s at stake, is not easy to deal with mentally.

Kevin Trapp saves Aaron Ramsey's penalty in the shootout.

When would it have been your turn to take one?

I wouldn’t have volunteered to shoot, but if needed I would have. I did take some in training from time to time and they were alright.

You came back to Frankfurt from Paris Saint-Germain a few seasons ago. Was it a necessary move for your career?

PSG are a bigger club than Frankfurt – with the players who come to them every year – but I love Eintracht Frankfurt because we play so many games with this euphoria, thanks to the fans we have. You’ve seen how important the fans have been this year. When you win a competition with a club like this, it’s something really special. The whole city stood still; a lot of bosses gave people time off. Our stadium was sold out, with 50,000 at the public viewing. The club always wants to develop and has really grown over the past few years. Now we’ve achieved an absolute high point in the club’s history.

How will the city celebrate?

I honestly don’t know. I saw photos from 2018 when they won the DFB-Pokal [German Cup] – I think it will be even crazier. It’s going to be the biggest party. I think we will see just what it means in the next few years. We’re very proud and will celebrate this trophy with the fans. We can’t wait to share it with them.

Next season you will be in the Champions League. How does that feel?

It’s one of the things that comes with winning the trophy: we’ve won an international title and we’ve qualified for the Champions League. In August we play in the Super Cup against Real Madrid or Liverpool. These things are unbelievably important for the club. To experience them as a footballer and as a fan of the club, it’s beautiful and deserved. We were undefeated in 13 games in the Europa League. Last year we were disappointed about not qualifying for the Champions League, now we will play in it with a trophy under our belt. If we’d qualified then, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with the cup. It happens how it happens – and it happened in the most beautiful way.

To access this article, as well as all CJ+ content and competitions, you will need a subscription to Champions Journal.
Already a subscriber? Sign in
close
Special Offers
christmas offer
Christmas CHEER
Up to 40% off
Start shopping
50% off
game night flash sale!!!
Don't miss out
00
Hours
:
00
minutes
:
00
Seconds
Valid on selected products only. subscriptions not included
close