Early career Van Damme started his career at
Beveren, before he made a short move to neighbour club
Lokeren where he played in the youth teams. He then signed for
Germinal Beerschot in 2001, making his senior debut in the
Jupiler League. Beerschot were linked with
Ajax and the Amsterdam club soon offered him a trial stay beginning in February 2002. In summer 2002, Van Damme moved permanently to Ajax where he showed promise in the
Dutch Cup. In the 2002–03 season, he played in the
Champions League and started as a regular player in the squad before breaking his toe in November 2002. The next season, he helped Ajax again qualify for the
Champions League group stage but he had few chances to play in the first team's title winning campaign, with the club preferring the Brazilian
Maxwell at full back. This limited chance of game time led him to sign for
Southampton of the
Premier League in June 2004, for £2.5 million. He made little impact during his spell with Southampton, playing just six times during the
2004–05 season, as the club were relegated to the
Championship. He spent the
2005–06 season on
loan at German
Bundesliga club
Werder Bremen but again struggled to hold down regular football, making just eight appearances (three starts), as the club finished runners-up. In search of more playing opportunities, Van Damme returned to his homeland to sign for
Anderlecht in June 2006 for €500,000.
Anderlecht His four-year spell at Anderlecht was much more successful as he won two Jupiler League championships (twice runners-up) and the
2008 Belgian Cup, and appeared in the Champions League group stages several times. Van Damme scored in the 2–1 win at rivals
Club Brugge that won the second of these league titles in 2010. His time in Brussels was the source of an unsavoury incident however, when
Standard Liège defender
Oguchi Onyewu accused him of racial abuse alleging that Van Damme called Onyewu a "dirty monkey" during the
2008–09 Championship playoff between the clubs. Onyewu subsequently sued Van Damme, although the case was withdrawn in February 2011 after a meeting between the two players when Van Damme apologised for any offence he may have given.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Van Damme returned to the Premier League in June 2010 by joining
Wolverhampton Wanderers. He signed a three-year deal, with the option of a fourth year, for a fee reported to be around £2.5 million. Sell-on clauses relating to his 2006 move to Anderlecht mean that Southampton should receive between 10 and 15 per cent of the fee received from Wolves, estimated at £300,000. He scored his first, and only, goal for Wolves against
Fulham on 11 September 2010. He struggled to settle at the club though, and on 29 November 2010, he signed a pre-contract agreement to return to his Belgian homeland in a three-and-a-half-year deal with
Standard Liège, after just six appearances for the Midlands club.
Standard Liège Van Damme's return to Belgium was officially ratified when the January 2011 transfer window opened. He made his Standard debut (playing as captain) in a 2–0 loss at former club Anderlecht on 23 January.
LA Galaxy On 26 January 2016, it was announced that Van Damme had joined
LA Galaxy. He made his debut on 24 February 2016 in a
CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal leg against
Santos Laguna.
Royal Antwerp In August 2017, Van Damme returned yet again to Belgium as he was signed by Royal Antwerp for $235,000. Van Damme said the main reason for leaving the LA Galaxy was that he wanted to be closer to his children.
Lokeren On 3 July 2019, he signed a one-year contract with
Lokeren.
Retirement Van Damme retired from professional football in February 2021. ==International career==