Rudi Vata (born 13 February 1969) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a defender, and had also a short stint as a manager of Albanian team KF Vllaznia Shkodër.
Club career Early life Vata was born in the northern city of Shkodër and joined local side Vllaznia Shkodër at a young age, making his first team debut in 1988. Whilst travelling with the Albania national football team in France he sought political asylum in 1991.
Vata's career in Western football began in France in 1991, when the KS Dinamo Tirana player claimed political asylum following an international match. He played for Le Mans and Tours, before playing for Celtic between January 1993 and 1995–96. He became the first Albanian to win an honour in a major European country when he won the 1995 Scottish FA Cup with Celtic.
Vata went on to play for Apollon Limassol (1996–1998), Energie Cottbus (1998–2001), Rot-Weiß Ahlen (January–June 2002) and SK Tirana (2002–2003). This was followed by a spell in Japan, after which he signed for St Johnstone in 2004. He retired from football in 2005 after a brief stint with KF Partizani Tirana.
Since retiring from the professional game, Vata has become a sports agent, specialising in Eastern European football, and facilitating the transfer of players such as Garry O'Connor and Aiden McGeady.
International career He made his debut for Albania in a May 1990 European Championship qualification match away against Iceland and earned a total of 59 caps, scoring 5 goals. His final international was a 1 September 2001 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Finland.
Personal life Vata is married to Anne Frances from Wishaw, Lanarkshire in Scotland, whom he met during his time playing at Celtic. They have two sons together, Ruan and Rocco, both of whom were born in Scotland. They live in Hamilton, Scotland.Interview: Rudi Vata on his journey from Albania to Celtic - Scotsman
Rocco plays for English Championship club Watford and received his first Ireland senior call up in March 2025.
Career statistics
Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueDivisionAppsGoalsVllaznia Shkodër1988–89Superliga1989–90TotalDinamo Tirana1990–91Superliga60Le Mans1991–92Division 2Tours1991–92Division 2Dinamo Tirana1992–93SuperligaCeltic1992–93Premier Division2221993–941011994–95711995–9660Total604Apollon Limassol1996–97First Division2541997–98245Total499Energie Cottbus1998–992. Bundesliga2501999–20002512000–01Bundesliga3012001–0210Total812LR Ahlen2001–022. Bundesliga80Tirana2002–03Superliga134Yokohama FC2003J2 League243St Johnstone2003–04First Division150Career total24122
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAlbania199010199110199250199360199430199551199640199771199880199981200072200140Total595
Honours Dinamo Tirana Albanian Superliga: 1990Albania - Championship Winning Teams - RSSSF
Celtic Scottish Cup: 1994–95
KF Tirana Albanian Superliga: 2003 Albanian Supercup: 2002Albanian Supercup 2002 RSSSF. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
Albania Malta International Tournament: 2000Rothmans Tournament 2000 (Malta) RSSSF. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
References
External links Vata at Celtic FC - Football-Heroes.net