KEvin Trapp’s daily work this Monday offers a special incentive for the goalkeeper. A great motivation that the 32-year-old could not count on in this form. From 6 p.m. (in the FAZ live ticker for the national team and on ZDF) Trapp will be in goal for the German national team in Bremen. Opponent is then in the benefit international match Ukraine.
National coach Hansi Flick had actually made it clear that before the EM 2024 in Germany he wanted to stick strictly to the goalkeeper hierarchy in the test games. In it, Marc-André ter Stegen (FC Barcelona) is currently in front of Frankfurter Trapp, who is the first mover – at least as long as Manuel Neuer, who broke his tibia and fibula in a skiing accident, is not in the condition for a comeback is at the highest level.
But because ter Stegen only arrived at the team hotel near Frankfurt last Friday evening and completed his first training session on Saturday, he is now being given a break from Flick. The 31-year-old had gone on a business trip to Japan with his Spanish employer, but only stayed as a spectator in the season-ending game. On the Weser, ter Stegen played the role of substitute goalkeeper in front of Bernd Leno (FC Fulham).
Seventh game in eight years
Kevin Trapp will make his seventh international match in Bremen in almost eight years as part of the national team squad. It is the 1000th international match in the history of the German Football Association, which is why the Bundesliga professional speaks of Eintracht as a “beautiful milestone”. “I want to prove myself and assume that it will be 90 minutes if nothing out of the ordinary happens,” said Trapp. “It’s a special day for me.”
He is an integral part of the national team squad. But his last full-distance appearance dates back to November 2020, when Germany beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in a friendly. At that time, the national coach was still called Joachim Löw. Under his successor Flick, Trapp played at least the second half of a test match against Israel that he won 2-0. The goalkeeper saved a penalty. That was in March 2022 and his last active contribution so far.
“We have a lot of quality”
At the World Cup in Qatar, Flick Trapp positioned behind Neuer and Ter Stegen. Frankfurt’s sports director Markus Krösche had held Trapp for the German goalkeeper with the best form at the time. Only in this case his assessment did not count. Today, the Eintracht goalkeeper says about the existing ranking in the selection team: “We have a lot of quality in Germany in this position.” It takes a lot of patience and the necessary class to take a chance when it comes up. And further: “The roles are clear, everyone has to fit in, and that also fits wonderfully in the goalkeeper team.”
“I want to prove myself here”
:
Image: Reuters
The situation was clearly communicated, so he also knew “what my tasks are”. Nevertheless, he has “the ambition to want to assert myself. I want to prove myself here,” said Trapp. Make it as difficult as possible for Flick to decide. The goalkeeper has never complained. However, Trapp had to swallow when Flick immediately declared Ter Stegen the provisional number one after Neuer’s serious injury. Frankfurt’s regular goalkeeper would have secretly wished for a more open race for the top position.
For the U-21 national team, Trapp’s team-mate Ansgar Knauff – who is part of the provisional squad for the European Championships in Georgia and Romania starting this month – will have a chance to prove himself after falling behind in Frankfurt in recent months. Aurelio Buta had outstripped him on the right wing. And on the left side, Knauff’s performance was not consistent when the times changed.
In the lost cup final against Leipzig (0:2), the 21-year-old was no longer part of coach Oliver Glasner’s squad for his final competitive game with Eintracht. Nevertheless, the Hessians tied the Dortmund loan player to Eintracht for the next five years. “We believe in Ansgar and supported him when things weren’t going so well. But we believe in him. Ansgar will come out of the valley,” said sports director Markus Krösche in the club’s own media.
After his move from Dortmund to Main 18 months ago, the nimble Knauff had made a rocket start at Eintracht with his pronounced offensive urge. The high-flyer made his contribution to Frankfurt’s Europa League victory. In the end, however, he ran far behind his form. Knauff had lost confidence. Glasner was obviously not satisfied with his attitude and training performance. His protégé, on the other hand, apparently found it difficult to deal with the situation, which was frustrating for him. The new trainer – his name will be Dino Toppmöller – should bring Knauff back to its old level of performance. A kind of new beginning awaits the winger in Frankfurt.
