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SEVILLE, Spain — In 2012, Kevin Trapp was sent off after 19 minutes of his Eintracht Frankfurt debut. On Wednesday, the goalkeeper, now 31, etched his name in club lore for the right reasons, emerging as a hero on a night when the German club once again became a European champion. Trapp made a startling kick save in the final minutes of extra time to take the UEFA Europa League final vs. Scottish power Rangers to penalties after a 1–1 draw. Trapp, inevitably, made the decisive save in the shootout, blocking Aaron Ramsey’s weak effort with his legs as Frankfurt lifted the second European trophy in its history and first in 42 years at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
Trapp had spent four years at Paris Saint-Germain, and when he returned to Frankfurt, it seemed as though he was taking a step backwards. Perhaps he was in terms of club stature, but it is he who has won a European trophy while those still in Paris have not. And that, perhaps, was fitting. This was a curious night, a throwback, a reminder of football when European finals were all about glory. Often the Europa League has felt like a consolation, a trophy to mitigate an otherwise disappointing season. Not here: this was a clash of two sides desperate for unfamiliar success—two clubs threatened by the movement to tilt the balance of the sport even more to the entrenched elite.
