Kevin Christian Trapp (German pronunciation: [ˈkɛvɪn ˈtʁap]; born 8 July 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Paris FC.
Trapp began his professional career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he took part in two Bundesliga seasons. In 2012, he signed for Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of €1.5 million and played regularly over three years, also competing in the UEFA Europa League. He joined Paris Saint-Germain for an estimated €10 million in 2015, where he won several domestic honours. In 2018, he re-joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan, before signing permanently the next season.
Trapp won 21 caps for Germany's youth teams, including 11 for the under-21s, and made his full debut in June 2017. He was part of their squad that won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup and also competed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
Born in Merzig, West Germany, Trapp began his football career at FC Brotdorf, joining at seven years old. He moved to neighbouring town, SSV Bachem aged twelve. After spending two years there, Trapp joined SV Mettlach. One day, he said in an interview on joining 1. FC Kaiserslautern, saying:
I told my coach I'd like to be down there on the pitch one day. I went home afterwards and from my own incentive, I looked up FC K and what opportunities they were offering. They were having trials. I wrote them an email explaining my situation and that I'd love to take part in the trials. I think it was September when I received a reply saying that it was currently not possible, however, that they would contact me in case the opportunity arose again. That is what they did a year later! 2003 or 2004. I was allowed to take part in the training sessions and from then on, everything took flight. I had the honour of being invited to play for the first team back when I was in the youth leagues due to the goalkeepers being off sick. SVV Bachum were already playing Youth Bundesliga. Kaiserslautern was also in that league. Therefore, when I got to play, it was a match against Kaiserslautern. I found out later as I was offered the contract that there were a bunch of coaches there watching the game. So, it wasn't just the email but also the performance!
Trapp started his professional career with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he progressed through the club's youth system. During his time at 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Trapp said he learned a lot from Gerald Ehrmann.
Trapp made his first appearance in the first team on 9 August 2008 in the 2008–09 DFB-Pokal round 1 against FC Carl Zeiss Jena, losing 2–1. It was announced on 21 July 2009 that he signed his first professional contract with the club, keeping him until 2013. Trapp made another appearance in the first team ten days later on 31 July 2009 in the 2009–10 DFB-Pokal round 1 against Eintracht Braunschweig, where he kept a clean sheet, in a 1–0. Over the next two seasons, Trapp was involved in the first team, appearing as the club's third choice goalkeeper and then second choice goalkeeper. At one point during the 2009–10 season, he suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out for three months. By January, Trapp made a recovery.
Since the start of the 2010–11 season, Trapp became the club's second goalkeeper for the side and was featured on the substitute bench. On 12 March 2011, with regular goalkeeper Tobias Sippel sidelined with influenza, he made his Bundesliga debut in a 2–1 home win over SC Freiburg. Competing with Sippel, Trapp played all eight remaining fixtures of the season. During which, he kept three clean sheets for the side, including two in a row between 23 April 2011 and 29 April 2011 against Schalke 04 and FC St. Pauli. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Trapp went on to make nine appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Trapp was linked with a move to Schalke 04 but he ended up staying at the club. Following this, Trapp continued to be the club's first choice goalkeeper at the start of the season, beating out Sippel. His performance was praised by Manager Marco Kurz, who said: "Kevin once again proved his class in a very emotional, intense game and saved the point. Overall, it was a happy FCK point win after the entire 90 minutes, which is morally very valuable." Despite suffering from injury in late–October, Trapp continued to remain as the club's first choice goalkeeper. Along the way, he kept clean sheets for the side, both coming against SC Freiburg and Werder Bremen. However, in early–March, Trapp suffered a thigh injury and was sidelined for two matches. After returning from injury, he found himself on the substitute bench, as Sippel was the club's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2011–12 season. As the season progressed, 1. FC Kaiserslautern was eventually relegated to 2.Bundesliga. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Trapp made twenty–six appearances in all competitions.
On 7 May 2012, Trapp left relegated Kaiserslautern and joined promoted Eintracht Frankfurt on a four-year contract for a fee of €1.5 million.
Trapp made his Eintracht Frankfurt debut, where he started the match, only to be sent–off in the 19th minute for a professional foul on Jakub Sylvestr, as the club lost 3–0 against Erzgebirge Aue in the first round of the DFB–Pokal. Despite this, Trapp made his league debut for the club, helping the side win 2–1 against Bayer Leverkusen in the opening game of the season. In a follow–up match against Hoffenheim, he kept his first clean sheet in his Eintracht Frankfurt's career, winning 4–0. Since joining the club, he quickly became a first choice goalkeeper for the side. The team had a good start to his first season, sitting in third place by November, and he received plaudits for his performances against leaders Bayern Munich despite losing 2–0. Manager Armin Veh praised Trapp's performance, saying: "Kevin has a great mentality, is totally on the ground. He's going to get even better." He then helped the club keep four clean sheets between 2 February 2013 and 10 March 2013. However, his campaign ended prematurely in March 2013, due to a hand injury while with the national under-21 team. Despite the injury, Trapp made twenty–seven appearances in all competitions and helped Eintracht Frankfurt finish sixth place in the league, therefore qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.
Having served a one match suspension for his red card last season, Trapp made his first appearance of the season against Hertha BSC in the opening game of the season and conceded six goals, as Eintracht Frankfurt lost 6–1. Since his return, he continued to regain his place as the club's first choice goalkeeper in the 2013–14 season. Trapp played in both legs of the UEFA Europa League Play–Offs against Qarabağ, helping the side win 4–1 on aggregate to qualify the Group Stage. He then helped Eintracht Frankfurt qualify to knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League Group Stage and helped the club earn four clean sheets along the way. However, the club reached the last 32, where they lost on away goals to FC Porto after a 5–5 aggregate draw. During a 5–0 loss against Bayern Munich on 2 February 2014, he suffered a bruise on his right tibia and was substituted in the 77th minute. Following a check, Trapp was given all clear and returned to the starting line–up against Eintracht Braunschweig on 8 February 2014, as he helped the side win 3–0. During the 2013–14 season, he saved four penalties, a record of his penalty saves in a season. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Trapp went on to make forty–six appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Trapp was linked with a move to Borussia Mönchengladbach as a replacement for Marc-André ter Stegen, but stayed at Eintracht Frankfurt. He also was given a captaincy by Manager Thomas Schaaf following the departure of Pirmin Schwegler. Trapp made a good start as a captain when he helped the side earn two wins and four draws. However, during a 2–2 draw against Mainz 05 on 24 September 2014, he suffered ankle injury at the last minutes and was sidelined for four months. It wasn't until on 31 January 2015 when Trapp returned to the starting line–up against Freiburg, as they lost 4–1. Following his return, he resumed his captain role, as well as, his first choice goalkeeper status. It was announced on 2 March 2015 that he signed a three–year contract with the club, keeping him until 2019. Since returning from injury, Trapp continued to regain his captaincy and his role as the club's first choice goalkeeper for the rest of the 2014–15 season. At the end of the 2014–15 season, he went on to make twenty–three appearances in all competitions.