Rudi Vata
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox football biography
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.[1]
Vata's career in Western football began in France in 1991, when the KS Dinamo Tirana player claimed political asylum following an international match.[2][3] 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.[4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7] His final international was a 1 September 2001 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Finland.[8]
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.[9]
Rudi Vata is also known for speaking in the third person.
Rocco plays for English Championship club Watford and received his first Ireland senior call up in March 2025.[10]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vllaznia Shkodër | 1988–89 | Superliga | ||
| 1989–90 | ||||
| Total | ||||
| Dinamo Tirana | 1990–91 | Superliga | 6 | 0 |
| Le Mans | 1991–92 | Division 2 | ||
| Tours | 1991–92 | Division 2 | ||
| Dinamo Tirana | 1992–93 | Superliga | ||
| Celtic | 1992–93 | Premier Division | 22 | 2 |
| 1993–94 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 1994–95 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 1995–96 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 60 | 4 | ||
| Apollon Limassol | 1996–97 | First Division | 25 | 4 |
| 1997–98 | 24 | 5 | ||
| Total | 49 | 9 | ||
| Energie Cottbus | 1998–99 | 2. Bundesliga | 25 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | 25 | 1 | ||
| 2000–01 | Bundesliga | 30 | 1 | |
| 2001–02 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 81 | 2 | ||
| LR Ahlen | 2001–02 | 2. Bundesliga | 8 | 0 |
| Tirana | 2002–03 | Superliga | 13 | 4 |
| Yokohama FC | 2003 | J2 League | 24 | 3 |
| St Johnstone | 2003–04 | First Division | 15 | 0 |
| Career total | 241 | 22 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 1990 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1996 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 7 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 5 | |
Honours
Dinamo Tirana
Celtic
KF Tirana
Albania
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".Template:Cbignore
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Interview: Rudi Vata on his journey from Albania to Celtic - Scotsman
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:PAGENAMEBASE at National-Football-Teams.comScript error: No such module "EditAtWikidata".Script error: No such module "WikidataCheck".
- ↑ a b Albania - Championship Winning Teams - RSSSF
- ↑ Albanian Supercup 2002 RSSSF. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- ↑ Rothmans Tournament 2000 (Malta) RSSSF. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Vata at Celtic FC - Football-Heroes.net
- Template:PAGENAMEBASE at National-Football-Teams.comScript error: No such module "EditAtWikidata".Script error: No such module "WikidataCheck".
- Template:J.League player
- Pages with script errors
- 1969 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Shkodër
- Albanian men's footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- Albania men's international footballers
- KF Vllaznia Shkodër players
- FC Dinamo City players
- Le Mans FC players
- Tours FC players
- Celtic F.C. players
- Apollon Limassol FC players
- FC Energie Cottbus players
- Rot Weiss Ahlen players
- KF Tirana players
- Yokohama FC players
- St Johnstone F.C. players
- FK Partizani Tirana players
- Ligue 2 players
- Scottish Football League players
- Cypriot First Division players
- Bundesliga players
- 2. Bundesliga players
- J2 League players
- Albanian expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in France
- Albanian expatriate sportspeople in France
- Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland
- Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
- Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
- Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus
- Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
- Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- Expatriate men's footballers in Japan
- Albanian expatriate sportspeople in Japan
- Albanian football managers
- KF Vllaznia Shkodër managers
- Kategoria Superiore players
- Kategoria Superiore managers
- Association football agents
- 20th-century Albanian sportsmen