On January 9, 2015, Columbus Crew SC announced midfielder Wil Trapp received his first-ever call-up for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s senior roster. Almost exactly one year later, the 22-year-old is returning to Carson, California for his second call-up to the annual training camp.
“I’m excited for it,” he says. “It’s a great thing to be recognized and invited to the national team camp, but I definitely think this year I’m ready more than just the year prior.”
Following last year’s camp, the Crew SC Homegrown earned his first cap for the Stars and Stripes in an international friendly against Chile on January 28. After the match, he mentioned feeling relieved to have his first cap “out of the way.” This time around, Trapp says he feels more prepared.
“It always is helpful to know the framework and format of a January camp and what Jürgen [Klinsmann] as the head coach and manager expects,” he says, “and I think that bodes well for myself just in terms of being a little bit more confident and prepared, mentally and physically.”
Another contributing factor to Trapp’s primed status is his experience with the U.S. U-23s. In his most recent stint with the team, he started and captained the squad in four of its five CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying matches for Rio 2016. The young stars went 4-1, giving them an opportunity to play Colombia in a two-game playoff series in March for an Olympic berth.
With Trapp’s recent involvement, he’s become familiar with U.S. U-23 Head Coach Andi Herzog’s style of coaching and his expectations.
“I think a guy like Andi Herzog and knowing what Andi likes, the format of training sessions definitely bodes well for moving into a full team camp with Jürgen because Andi is the assistant coach,” he says.
As Trapp’s adept involvement with U.S. Soccer continues to escalate, he can provide insight to fellow Black & Gold midfielders Ethan Finlay and Tony Tchani, who will be joining him in Cali.
Over his 25 appearances in 2015, postseason matches included, Trapp has shown he’s more than capable of successfully finding his teammates on the pitch. Of Crew SC players with more than 1,100 passes in 2015, he had the highest passing accuracy at 87.82%. That precise distribution was key for the Black & Gold’s success in the club’s possession-based style of play.
“When you’re with guys every day like we are, here in Columbus, you get accustomed to a certain style of coaching, style of training,” he says. “This is very, very much a different cast, because it’s a month-long stint with more training and different coaching, and it’s important to have someone who’s seen it before and that you can relate to, so being able to be a sounding board for those guys is definitely something that will help them out as well as help me out.”
Aiding his teammates is nothing new for Columbus’ Vice Captain, as he registered an 88.24% tackle success rate, recovered 158 times and matched Tchani’s 58 interceptions.
Recognized for his tactical awareness, technical ability and impressive situational understanding, the Trapp was ranked No. 4 in MLSsoccer.com’s 2015 list of the League’s top 24 players under the age of 24. He recently was also the highest ranked MLS player at No. 43 on Bleacher Report’s "100 players to watch in world football in 2016."
"To many USMNT analysts, Wil Trapp represents the future of Jürgen Klinsmann's midfield," Bleacher Report wrote, adding that Trapp has "been excellent all year, performing consistently at the heart of Columbus Crew's midfield."
Trapp’s consistent performances contributed heavily to an impressive campaign for Columbus. The humble Homegrown says his team’s accomplishments are being rewarded with the call-ups to represent their country.
“I think any time a team does well throughout the season, they get recognized for it and we’re fortunate enough to play a great style that’s attractive and wins a lot of games,” he says. “And ultimately, we fell a little bit short of our goal, but we had a lot of players this year with Ethan and Tony just being a couple of guys that performed extremely well at a high level over the course of the season. Now, it’s being rewarded.”
