UEFA Europa League final: Eintracht Frankfurt captain Kevin Trapp – interview

A two-time French title winner with Paris Saint-Germain, goalkeeper Kevin Trapp returned to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018 on loan, then signed a long-term deal the following summer.

A multilingual small business owner with a passion for motorbikes, the 32-year-old brings a lot to the captaincy of Frankfurt, and knows just how much it would mean to the club if they can beat Rangers in the UEFA Europa League final in Seville. He spoke to UEFA.com.

On final opponents Rangers

Rangers have knocked out some big teams in Leipzig and Dortmund. They've also won those games in style, especially the second leg against Leipzig; they were very strong.

We will see two teams who have a similar physical style and who will be cheered on by their amazing fans. I can imagine it will be one of the most interesting finals to watch because you have two traditional teams who play honest football. It will be very difficult, and very stressful. But we know that if we go to our performance limits then we can also be difficult to play against, and we have the big goal of winning the game and leaving the field with the trophy in our hands.

On his unusual hobbies

I have to find things to think about that can distract me from the day-to-day stress, to know that I can learn about other things which occur in other areas of life, like having my own business. It helped me a lot to learn about how things work in the business area: how do you set up a company, what does it involve? Riding a motorbike is dangerous but so are lots of things and you are on your own; nobody can bother you or call you, and when the wind blows around your ears then it is simply a great feeling.

On his gift for languages and his captaincy style

I speak five [languages] fluently – German, French, English, Portuguese and Spanish –and a little Italian. [Having played abroad with Paris] I can empathise a lot with the new players who come here and at the start don't speak the language or know the culture. I'm not some sort of extrovert who approaches other players all the time because, firstly, I want to lead by my performance on the pitch and to let them know if there is a problem, I am always willing to help out. That's where the languages come in.

I learned a lot at Paris. I played with Zlatan Ibrahimović there who is a great personality; Thiago Silva who has won a lot and seen a lot, he was the captain; Marquinhos, who is the captain now – lots of players who have achieved a lot. I was able to learn a lot from them and try to pass this on to others now in Frankfurt.

On his special relationship with Frankfurt

Trapp and Zlatan Ibrahimović during their time in ParisAFP via Getty Images

If you take away the three or four years I was in Paris, I've been at this club for seven or eight years now, from 2012 to 2015 and 2018 until now: that's a long time. I found it difficult to leave the first time because I felt very good about being here. And when I decided to leave Paris, I had various options but somehow Frankfurt was right at the top of my list.

When others or players from other teams or people who don't have any connection to the club send me messages, they say they became an Eintracht Frankfurt fan because of the fans and because of the way we play. You don't see that very often for a team.

Our run through the Europa League so far is greater than we ever thought we'd experience. It's been a special year and we deserve to be in the final. Of course, we're now hoping and working towards our huge dream of bringing the trophy home and celebrating with our fans.