Daniel Van Buyten

Daniel Van Buyten (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdaːnijɛl vɑmˈbœy̆tə(n)]; born 7 February 1978) is a Belgian footballer who plays as a defender for Bayern Munich, following a June 2006 transfer from Hamburg. His father, Franz, was a Belgian popular catcher/wrestler in Europe from 1960 to 1980. His mother, Renate, is a German.

Bayern Munich

In June 2006, Bayern Munich announced it had acquired Van Buyten from rivals Hamburg, and signed him to a contract lasting through the 2009–10 season. Van Buyten had a highly successful first season at the Bavarian club, forming a centre-back partnership with Lúcio. Van Buyten scored his first goal for Bayern Munich against Energie Cottbus on 9 December 2006. Bayern ran out 2–1 winners and it was Van Buyten's goal which secured the win. Van Buyten then scored his second goal for the club in the loss to Borussia Dortmund. However, Van Buyten's most valuable contribution came against Milan on 3 April 2007, in the first-leg of the Champions League quarter-final. Van Buyten scored two away goals to level the match and giving Bayern Munich the advantage in the tie (see below). The two close range efforts doubled his tally to four goals for the season.

On 4 February 2010, Bayern Munich announced that Van Buyten had signed a new contract that would keep him at the club until 2012^] During the second half of the 2010–11 season, Van Buyten was mostly relegated to bench player status, but recovered his starting spot towards the end of the season. On 17 December 2011, in the match between Bayern Munich and 1. FC Köln, Van Buyten struck a free kick so hard that the ball burst.

On 30 April 2012, Van Buyten signed a one-year extension with Bayern Munich

Champions League

In the first leg of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League quarter-final encounter against Milan at the San Siro, he scored twice with his left foot, once in the 78th minute to take Bayern to 1–1. Then he scored a stoppage time half-volley. This takes his tally to three total UEFA Champions League goals. He scored one for Marseille in 2003 against Real Madrid.