Daniel van Buyten

Daniel van Buyten is a Belgian centre back for Bayern Munich and the Belgium national football team. He was born in Chimay, the Belgian province of Hainaut. Because of the build and height, Daniel was given the nicknames ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Big Dan’.

In 1998 van Buyten made his first appearance for Charleroi, starting his senior football career. In 1999 the defender joined a more notable Belgian club – Standard Liège.

From 2001 to 2004 Daniel played for Olympique de Marseille and showed good scoring ability, delivering 12 goals in 76 appearances, which is quite a surprising figure for a centre back. He spent the 2003/04 season with Manchester City on a loan spell.

In 2004 the footballer moved to German Hamburger SV and stayed there for two seasons. In summer 2006 the Belgian was purchased by Bayern Munich. On 3 April 2007 Daniel amassed a brace in the Champions League quarter-final against Milan, saving his team from a defeat. Nevertheless, in the second leg Milan defeated Bayern and won the UEFA Champions League. Under Jürgen Klinsmann the defender was rarely included in the first team, but with the arrival of Louis van Gaal, Daniel was made first choice back for Bayern.

On 4 February 2010 van Buyten extended his contract with Bayern Munich until 2012, and on 30 April 2012 the agreement was extended until 30 June 2013.

During the 2011/12 season the player lost the spot in the starting line-up to Jérôme Boateng and Holger Badstuber.

Van Buyten won a number of trophies with Bayern Munich including the German championship (2008, 2010) and the German Cup (2008, 2010). He is also the Champions League finalist 2010, 2012.

In 2001 Daniel was first capped for the national team to play in a match versus San Marino. He represented Belgium in the 2002 World Cup, held in Japan and South Korea.