Van Buyten on Belgian football: Performance & passion

Eight years at FC Bayern. And today? Public appearances from Daniel van Buyten have become rare. The Belgian spoke to fcbayern.com about his new life, Vincent Kompany, Belgian football and his time at Bayern.

The phone goes again. It vibrates too often, in fact. So often that the family at home complain. It keeps him busy, but he doesn’t know any different. Of course he picks it up again, since a new challenge could be hidden behind every message. “Life after the playing career is completely different,” knows Daniel van Buyten, explaining later: “I was and am the kind of person who always gives 100 percent.”

The 47-year-old gave the interview to fcbayern.com ahead of Bayern’s game against Club Brügge in the Champions League (Wednesday, 21:00 CEST) on the sidelines of a riding arena near Charleroi in Belgium, where he’s closely observing his 15-year-old daughter Lou-Ann in dressage training. “I not only have great respect for her performance, but also that of these huge horses,” van Buyten admits.

End of career doesn’t mean retirement

As a player, the 1.96-metre giant put the fear of God into opposition strikers. He won four Bundesliga titles, four DFB Cups and the 2013 Champions League with the Bavarians. After eight successful years, his time in a Bayern shirt came to an end in June 2014, although he still dons it occasionally for the FC Bayern Legends. And a lot of the old van Buyten is still there: discipline, ambition, determination.

It took a while until he found his place in life after football. The end of his professional career didn’t mean retirement for van Buyten, but a new beginning. He set up an estate agency, has implemented several building projects and is currently investing in a large sports centre for padel, golf and tennis. His work as a player agent also keeps him busy during the transfer windows. He summarises his motivation in one sentence: “I’m a winner. When I do something, I do it right because I want to make it happen.”

When all else is quiet at 5am in his household of five, he’s already sitting in the office, organising his thoughts and then beginning his working day. In the event, routine returns. “The family come together every evening, we eat together and talk to each other. That’s important to me,” he explains.

Still keeps an eye on Bayern

Van Buyten is still sporty: he plays padel, runs and prepares for games with the legends team. He still follows his former club, too. He describes the current side as “unbelievably strong”, adding: “This Bayern squad is in the top three in the world.”

At the same time, though, he’d like more excitement in the Bundesliga, like there is in Belgium currently. “In my day, we had opponents on our level like BVB. Now I already get the feeling that no one can take away the next league title from Bayern.” Competition, friction – that’s always what’s motivated van Buyten.

Van Buyten also keeps a close eye on football in his homeland. “Belgian football has improved spectacularly in recent years. The clubs have understood how to get the best out limited budgets.” In general, Belgium is now regarded as a very good destination for young and hungry players.

Hotbed of talent

Brügge sold two players to English Premier League clubs for around €20 million each in the summer in Maxim De Cuyper (24, Brighton) and Chemsdine Talbi (20, Sunderland). Van Buyten explains why he thinks Belgium produces so much talent: “All influences are absorbed – nutrition, conditioning, the parents are on board from the start and also support. Awareness has become very keen. Now the fruits are being reaped.”

Either way, Bayern’s upcoming opponents are in fashion at the moment. “The structure has grown over years, the squad has developed under a solid management structure, which you notice on the pitch,” reveals van Buyten. “Brügge work very well out of possession and play forward quickly.”

Brügge have three points on the board after two games in the Champions League, having started with an eye-catching 4-1 win against Monaco before a 2-1 defeat to Atalanta.

Yet van Buyten remains a realist. “Brügge can resist Bayern for 30 minutes, maybe even a half. But I don’t fancy their chances of success. The top level of the Champions League is not the yardstick for Brügge.”

Trust in former teammate Kompany

Van Buyten follows the development of Belgian football with pride – and is particularly interested in his compatriot who’s in the dugout at Bayern these days. Van Buyten and Vincent Kompany formed the centre of defence in the Belgian national team for a long time, and he sees a true leader in his former partner. “He brings a lot of quality, has a strong character and is doing a very good job. Vincent has the best conditions at Bayern. I’m sure the success will continue.”

His words about Kompany sound like a reflection of his own time in Munich. He was a unifying figure, a bridge builder, a loyal team player. He got on extremely well with Franck Ribéry, who will always remain his “brother”. He helped not only on the pitch, but also off it. For him, that was a matter of course.

Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, then president and CEO, recognised that early: “They said to me: ‘We see that and we want you to know that the club won’t forget you.’ I knew then: FC Bayern is more than just a club.”

The Munich men go into the upcoming Champions League encounter with great momentum:

His own standards have remained the same over the years. “In eight years I was maybe late to training twice. I put my foot down like mad, even at times when I wasn’t in the starting XI. The guys in front of me could never relax.”

From defender to businessman

Van Buyten was a rock at Bayern – and has remained so in life. Today, he builds, negotiates and promotes. The same ambition that once struck fear into attackers now drives him in his projects. “When you're a winner, it's difficult to say no.”

The centre-back has become a businessman, the team player has remained a family man. And when van Buyten speaks about the clash between his old club and the Belgian runners-up, he does so with respect, realism and the clear view of a man who never leaves success to chance.

And so Daniel van Buyten also still represents much of what has always characterised FC Bayern: performance, loyalty – and passion which never stops vibrating.