Marcel Schmelzer is a German professional footballer who plays for Borussia Dortmund as a left back, serving as captain from 2016 to 2018. He has been capped by Germany at international level. A one-club man, Schmelzer has spent his entire professional career at Dortmund.

Club career
Schmelzer was born in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt. He started his professional career with Borussia Dortmund, making his first appearance on 9 August 2008, in the German Cup first-round match against Rot-Weiss Essen. His first league appearance came in the following week, as he played the final twenty minutes of a 3–2 win at Bayer Leverkusen. Schmelzer had his best season for Borussia Dortmund in the 2010–11 season, where he managed to play every minute of the season for the team who went on to win the Bundesliga that year.

The following season, Schmelzer, who missed the beginning of the Bundesliga due to injury, enjoyed yet another trophy as he helped Dortmund win another Bundesliga titles. In addition to being the left back for the team for the entire season, Schmelzer also helped Dortmund secure the DFB Pokal with a 5–2 win against Bayern Munich, making it 3 titles in 2 years.

International career
Schmelzer was called by the U21 team for the 2009 European Championship, being used regularly, although not as a starter, he played the final five minutes in the final, a 4–0 success against England.