Rudi Vata

Rudi Vata
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-02-13) 13 February 1969
Place of birth Shkodër, Albania
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Defender
Youth career
1980-1988 Vllaznia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988-1990 KS Vllaznia 40 (5)
1990-1991 Dinamo Tirana 20 (2)
1991-1992 Le Mans 18 (0)
1992-1993 Dinamo Tirana 22 (3)
1993-1996 Celtic 45 (4)
1996-1998 Apollon Limassol 50 (9)
1998-2001 Energie Cottbus 81 (2)
2001-2002 Rot-Weiß Ahlen 10 (0)
2002-2003 Tirana 30 (2)
2003 Yokohama FC 24 (3)
2003-2004 St Johnstone F.C. 15 (0)
2004-2005 Partizani 20 (1)
National team
1990-2001 Albania 59 (5)
Teams managed
2011-2012 Vllaznia

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Rudi Vata (born 13 February 1969 in Shkodër) is a former Albanian footballer who played as a defender, and had also a short stint as a manager of Albanian team KS Vllaznia Shkoder.

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 U-21 team in France he sought political asylum in 1991.[1]

Football career

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 Union Club 72 and Tours FC, 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, from where he signed for St Johnstone F.C. in 2004. He retired from football in 2005 after a brief stint with KF Partizani Tirana.[4] He was capped 58 times and scored 5 goals for the Albanian national team.

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.[5]

Club statistics

[6]

Club performance League
Season Club League Apps Goals
Albania League
1988/89Vllaznia ShkodërSuperliga
1989/90
1990/91Dinamo TiranaSuperliga60
France League
1991/92Le MansDivision 2
1991/92ToursDivision 2
Albania League
1992/93Dinamo TiranaSuperliga
Scotland League
1992/93CelticPremier Division222
1993/94101
1994/9571
1995/9660
Cyprus League
1996/97Apollon LimassolFirst Division254
1997/98245
Germany League
1998/99Energie Cottbus2. Bundesliga250
1999/00251
2000/01Bundesliga301
2001/0210
2001/02LR Ahlen2. Bundesliga80
Albania League
2002/03TiranaSuperliga134
Japan League
2003Yokohama FCJ2 League243
Scotland League
2003/04St JohnstoneFirst Division150
Country Albania 194
France
Scotland 604
Cyprus 499
Germany 892
Japan 243
Total 24122

National team statistics

Albania national team
YearAppsGoals
199010
199110
199250
199360
199430
199551
199640
199771
199880
199981
200072
200140
Total595

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, both of whom were born in Scotland.

References

  1. ↑ Phil Gordan (2009-03-28). "Earrings and beards welcome as Rudi Vata helps Stark's boys". Times Online. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  2. ↑ Gordon, Phil (25 March 2001). "The Albanian who came in from the cold". The Independent.
  3. ↑ TheCelticWiki profile
  4. ↑ Littbarski turns interest to Hibs
  5. ↑ BBC Sport - Celtic's Aiden McGeady likely to snup Spartak - Vata
  6. ↑ Rudi Vata at National-Football-Teams.com
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