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Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel announced Friday that German left-back Marcel Schmelzer has been named team captain for the 2016/17 season.
Schmelzer, 28, has been in the Dortmund system since 2005 and has been a first-team player since 2008. He has made 281 appearances, scoring four times.
In today’s press conference, Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel had high praise for his new captain, showing his confidence in Schmelzer as a leader.
.@Schmelle29 neuer Kapitän - @MarioGoetze fällt aus. Infos der #BVB-PK: https://t.co/mYla71NFyS #BVBM05 (Foto: dpa) pic.twitter.com/dsOEJffvm0
— Ruhr Nachrichten BVB (@RNBVB) August 26, 2016
TRANSLATION: Schmelzer being named captain is the natural decision. He has a high consciousness for responsibility and social competence. However I don't "value" the decision as all that important. We want to distribute the responsibility onto many different guys.
When center-back Mats Hummels announced his departure from Dortmund earlier summer, the defender left BVB with two holes to fill. Not only did Borussia Dortmund lose a talented, playmaking center-back, but also their captain and a proven leader.
Marc Bartra looks to have assumed the role of “playmaking” center-back, while Schmelzer as captain seems like a no-brainer. With winger Marco Reus still ailing, Schmelzer will be looked to as the leader on the team.
So when BVB takes the field in its season opener tomorrow, it will be #29 leading the team out of the tunnel.