Rudi Vata

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.

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 September 1, 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.

In November 2019, his son Rocco was set to make his Republic of Ireland U-15 debut against Poland. Rocco then joined and progressed through the youth sector of Celtic (one of his father's former clubs), signing a professional contract with the Scottish team in July 2021.

Honours
Dinamo Tirana
 * Albanian Superliga: 1990

Celtic
 * Scottish Cup: 1994–95

KF Tirana
 * Albanian Superliga: 2003
 * Albanian Supercup: 2002

Albania
 * Malta International Tournament: 2000