An ever-present member of Borussia Dortmund's 2010/11 Bundesliga title-winning side, swashbuckling left-back Marcel Schmelzer has graduated – along with several other youngsters from Jürgen Klopp's team – to senior international honours with Germany, making his competitive debut in a UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier against Austria in Vienna.

• Schmelzer played youth football in his native Magdeburg before moving to the Dortmund academy in 2005 at the age of 17.

• Played for Dortmund's amateur side in the Regionalliga Nord until Klopp promoted him to the first team in summer 2008; made his senior debut in a German Cup tie against Rot-Weiss Essen followed, a week later, by his Bundesliga bow in a 3-2 win against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

• Although he began his career as a left-winger, he switched to left-back and managed to oust long-serving Dedé from that berth in the 2009/10 season, making 28 league appearances.

• Ever-present in Dortmund's 2010/11 Bundesliga title triumph – conspicuous by his headband – and scored his first goal for the club (in a 5-0 defeat of 1. FC Köln) the following season as the Schwarzgelben retained the championship.

• A European U21 champion with Germany in 2009 − making four appearances − he returned to Sweden to make his senior debut for the Nationalmannschaft in a November 2010 friendly, playing the full 90 minutes of a goalless draw.

UEFA honours
UEFA European Under-21 Championship: winner 2009