Daniel Van Buyten

Early career

Van Buyten joined Olympique de Marseille in the summer of 2001, leaving Belgian side Standard Liège with whom he had been with since 1999. After two-and-a-half productive seasons with the club, on 31 January 2004 Van Buyten agreed to a short-term loan agreement with Manchester City, signing for the Premier League club until the end of the season. He proved to be a success in his half-season loan deal at the club, garnering praise from his manager, specifically in his performance against Chelsea. But former manager Kevin Keegan conceded that, "I don't think we will keep him at the end of the season as I feel he will go to a big club then." Van Buyten returned to Marseille at the end of his loan agreement and was signed by Bundesliga club Hamburger SV in June 2004 to replace outgoing captain Nico-Jan Hoogma, agreeing to a four-year deal with the German side. For Hamburg he made 61 German top-flight appearances.

Bayern Munich

In June 2006, Bayern Munich announced that they had acquired Van Buyten from Hamburg and had signed him to a contract lasting through the 2009–10 season. Van Buyten had a highly successful first season at the Bavarian club, forming an effective centre-back partnership with Lúcio. Van Buyten scored his first goal for Bayern against Energie Cottbus on 9 December 2006, scoring the game-winning goal of a 2–1 victory for Die Roten. Van Buyten then scored his second goal for the club on 26 January 2007, levelling the sides at 1–1…

Van Buyten was called up to the national team in 2001 and received his first cap for Belgium on 28 February 2001 against San Marino in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, starting in a 10–1 thrashing of the nation. His first goal for the national team came in just his second cap, heading home the equalizing goal in a 2–2 draw with Scotland on 24 March 2001, earning a crucial point for ten-man Belgium in World Cup qualifying. After good performances with Marseille in France, the young defender was included in the 23-man roster for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. He played the full game in Belgium's opening match of the tournament, a 2–2 draw with co-hosts Japan on 4 June. In the second group match, Belgium stuttered to a surprising 1–1 draw with Tunisia on 10 June while Van Buyten booked for the Belgians. Van Buyten helped Belgium pick up their first win of the tournament and in doing so progression to the knockout stage, stopping a late flurry from Russia to secure a 3–2 victory. Finishing as runners-up in the group, Belgium were dealt a tough draw with four-time champions Brazil. Despite a valiant effort, Van Buyten and the Belgians bowed out in the round of 16 as the duo of Rivaldo and Ronaldo led Brazil to a 2–0 win. The South Americans would eventually be crowned champions with a defeat of Germany in the final on 30 June by the same scoreline. Following Belgium's impressive display at the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, much was expected of the small…

Club

International

Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Van Buyten goal.

Van Buyten's father, Franz, was a popular Belgian catcher/wrestler in Europe from 1960 to 1980. His mother, Renate, is German.

Bank theft incident

While he was with Manchester City, he, along with players Djamel Belmadi and Matías Vuoso, were the victims of theft perpetrated by two bankers. In January 2006, the bank workers, Paul Sherwood, a cashier, and Paul Hanley, his supervisor, were jailed for 32 months and 12 months respectively.