The former Red Devil, Daniel Van Buyten, remembers his beginnings at Charleroi and at Standard, while sharing his feelings about the Walloon derby.
Daniel Van Buyten, former Charleroi and Standard player, always pays particular attention to the Walloon clash. “Big Dan” is undeniably an emblematic figure of Belgian football. The defender played 520 matches during his career, including 85 with Belgium.
Robert Waseige, an important man in Van Buyten’s career: “I found a second dad in Mr. Waseige. I was coming off a season in the reserves, where, as a defensive midfielder, I finished top scorer in the series with 37 goals Robert Waseige said to me at that time: ‘You haven’t understood that he’s a striker, I want to see him in the first team.’ I arrived in preparation and I scored three goals in four games. I thought my career as a striker was launched.
“At the start of the season, Mr. Waseige said that he would no longer accept minor injuries. I didn’t dare tell him that I was injured and I played with a tear, which kept me away from the team. land for months. […] Two months later, I was back. Even today, this remains a regret for me. I know I had the soul of an attacker, even if I had a good career as a defender.”
The beginnings at Standard
Daniel Van Buyten recalls his beginnings with Rouches: “Basically, Standard was negotiating the transfer of Laurent Wuillot. Lucien found the amount too high and he then asked to include me in the deal.”
“When I arrived, I saw that everyone was very satisfied with this transfer even though I was just a young kid who had proven nothing. (…) Lucien D’Onofrio told me that Tomislav Ivic saw in me a future great of Europe.”
The Walloon derby
Big Dan then evokes the famous Walloon derby: “Even if it was tense at the time when we met Charleroi with Standard, it went rather well. Whether at Sclessin or at Mambourg on the way back, where we “We had won 1-4. People knew the context of my departure. We were not in the case of a player who absolutely wanted to leave.
“For the fans, it remains a big match. Even if we would prefer it to be first against second or second against third, the rivalry is always present. But I must say that we felt it much more in our time ,” explains the former Belgian player.
