Question: Olympique de Marseille almost won the French League for the first time in how many years, having a remarkable run to third place, the most praised player was central defender Daniel Van Buyten, a Belgian former footballer who played as a centre back, nicknamed "Big Dan"?

full_context: Document 1: Vincent Kompany: Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (] ;] ; born 10 April 1986) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a central defender and captains both English club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. In the 2011–12 season he was awarded the captaincy of Manchester City, leading his club to win the Premier League that season, their first league title in 44 years. He is also chairman of Belgium D3B Division club BX Brussels.
Document 2: 2003–04 Bayer 04 Leverkusen season: Bayer 04 Leverkusen bounced back from the nearly disastrous season it came from, finishing in the top three and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League in the process. The season marked the breakthrough for Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov, who scored 16 goals, whereas Brazilian signing França contributed with 14 strikes. As it was, it was the attack that impressed the most, especially in the 6–2 crushing of champions Werder Bremen on the penultimate day of the season.
Document 3: Ron Vlaar: Ron Peter Vlaar (] ; born 16 February 1985) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a centre back for AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie, having returned to play at his first professional club. Vlaar is a regular at centre back for the Netherlands national team and has played for and captained both Feyenoord and Aston Villa.
Document 4: 2002–03 Udinese Calcio season: Udinese Calcio bounced back from the hugely disappointing 2001–02 Serie A season, in which it only just managed to avoid relegation. Under new coach Luciano Spalletti, Udinese gathered strength, and was a constant feature on the top half of the league table. Even though the squad lacked the goalscoring punch, the defence led by Néstor Sensini and surprising goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis held it together to such a degree it finished sixth in the league. Also Czech signing Marek Jankulovski impressed, the Napoli signing switching form left-wing to left back, causing interest from several bigger clubs. In the offence, Udinese's most influential player was David Pizarro, who scored seven times from the midfield and grabbed the attention from Lazio, who tried to sign him and teammate Martin Jørgensen immediately after the season had finished. Undisclosed Lazio players refused moving to Udine as compensation for the transfers, and both stayed on, much to the relief of Spalletti.
Document 5: Daniel Van Buyten: Daniel Van Buyten (] ; born 7 February 1978) is a Belgian former footballer who played as a centre back. Nicknamed "Big Dan", Van Buyten was known for his uncompromising style of play, exploiting both his physical strength and aerial ability.
Document 6: Didier Drogba: Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (] ; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a striker for American club Phoenix Rising FC. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. He has been named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009.
Document 7: 2002–03 Olympique de Marseille season: Olympique de Marseille almost won the French League for the first time in 11 years, having a remarkable run to third place, having only scored five goals more than it conceded. The most praised player was central defender Daniel Van Buyten, who was able to tighten up the defence, and also helping out with scoring several important goals. Without Marseille's goalscoring woes, it could have sustained a more serious title assault. Therefore it signed late-blooming starlet Didier Drogba from En Avant Guingamp, a move that was set to be among the best financial deals in the clubs' history.
Document 8: 2002–03 Parma A.C. season: Parma Associazione Calcio regained its respect following a lacklustre Serie A and Champions League performance the year before. Under new coach Cesare Prandelli, Parma played an offensive 4–3–3 formation, in which new offensive signings Adrian Mutu and Adriano starred. Both made up for the departure of Marco Di Vaio to Juventus. Mutu scored 18 goals from the left wing, and Parma accepted a multimillion-pound offer from Chelsea in the summer, which meant the Romanian international only spent a year at the club. Also impressing were goalkeeper Sébastien Frey and young centre-halves Matteo Ferrari and Daniele Bonera, who proved to be acceptable replacements for departed captain Fabio Cannavaro, who had joined Inter in late August 2002.
Document 9: Christian Benteke: Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for English club Crystal Palace and the Belgium national team.
Document 10: List of Belgium national football team captains: As of March 2016, the Belgian national football team has been led by at least 89 different captains; 86 different players "started" an international game as captain, but due to substitutions the total number is higher. At least 15 pure forwards and eight goalkeepers have fulfilled this role but most often Red Devils in defensive positions and midfielders were assigned as captain, as is usually the case in association football. Until 2011 under Dick Advocaat and Georges Leekens the former Belgium U-23 captain Thomas Vermaelen was chosen as national squad's leader, but during an injury period he left the captaincy to Vincent Kompany, who became the new permanent captain. After several periods of injuries and missing out UEFA Euro 2016, Kompany gradually lost his position as captain to Eden Hazard by 2017.
Document 11: Dani Carvajal: Daniel "Dani" Carvajal Ramos (] ; born 11 January 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right back for Spanish club Real Madrid and Spain national team.
Document 12: Jan Vertonghen: Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen (] ; born 24 April 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defender for English club Tottenham Hotspur and the Belgium national team. He is the third-captain for Spurs.
Document 13: 2004–05 Olympique de Marseille season: Olympique de Marseille had a disappointing season, with three managers passing by en route to a fifth-place finish in Ligue 1 and two premature domestic cup exits. With striker Didier Drogba being sold to Chelsea, and replacements Habib Bamogo and Péguy Luyindula not performing at a similar level, the goal-scoring went dry, but in spite of scoring two points less than the previous season, l'OM finished two positions above the previous season.
Document 14: 2003–04 Olympique de Marseille season: Olympique de Marseille returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in four years, and in spite of going out in the group stage, the side made headlines in the UEFA Cup, knocking Liverpool, Internazionale and Newcastle United out on the way to the final, where the sending off of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and the converted penalty kick from Valencia's Vicente saw Valencia eventually edge the game.
Document 15: Jérôme Boateng: Jérôme Agyenim Boateng (] ; born 3 September 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defender for German club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. A versatile defender, Boateng primarily is a centre-back, although he can also play as a right-back. Physically strong and composed in possession, he has garnered a reputation as a tough-tackling defender, with good passing and an ability to read the game, and is considered to be one of the world's best at his position.
ground_truth: 11