Rudi Vata
Encyclopedia
Rudi Vata is a former Albania
n footballer
who played as a defender
. He is the manager of Albanian team KS Vllaznia Shkoder
.
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 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
. 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 Europe
an football, and facilitating the transfer of players such as Garry O'Connor
and Aiden McGeady
.
and joined local side Vllaznia Shkodër at a young age, making his first team debut in 1988. Whilst trevelling with Albania's U-21
in France he sought political asylum in 1991.
|1988/89||rowspan="2"|Vllaznia Shkodër
||rowspan="2"|Superliga||||
|-
|1989/90||||
|-
|1990/91||Dinamo Tirana
||Superliga||6||0
|-
|1991/92||Le Mans||Division 2
||||
|-
|1991/92||Tours
||Division 2
||||
|-
|1992/93||Dinamo Tirana
||Superliga||||
|-
|1992/93||rowspan="4"|Celtic
||rowspan="4"|Premier Division
||22||2
|-
|1993/94||10||1
|-
|1994/95||7||1
|-
|1995/96||6||0
|-
|1996/97||rowspan="2"|Apollon Limassol
||rowspan="2"|First Division
||25||4
|-
|1997/98||24||5
|-
|1998/99||rowspan="4"|Energie Cottbus||rowspan="2"|2. Bundesliga
||25||0
|-
|1999/00||25||1
|-
|2000/01||rowspan="2"|Bundesliga||30||1
|-
|2001/02||1||0
|-
|2001/02||LR Ahlen||2. Bundesliga
||8||0
|-
|2002/03||Tirana
||Superliga||13||4
|-
|2003||Yokohama||J. League 2
||24||3
|-
|2003/04||St. Johnstone||First Division
||15||0
19||4
||
60||4
49||9
89||2
24||3
241||22
|}
|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
|}
, who he met during his time playing at Celtic. They have two son together, both of whom were born in Scotland.
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who played as a defender
Defender (football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
. He is the manager of Albanian team KS Vllaznia Shkoder
KS Vllaznia Shkodër
Klub Futboll Vllaznia Shkodër is an Albanian football club based in Shkodër. KF Vllaznia have been Albanian champions nine times and won the National Cup six times, the last success coming at the end of the 2007–08 season, after a long 21 year drought in the competition...
.
Vata's career in Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
football began in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1991, when the KS Dinamo Tirana
KS Dinamo Tirana
Klubi Sportiv Dinamo Tirana is an Albanian football team, playing in the Albanian capital of Tirana, founded in 1950. They play at the Stadiumi Qemal Stafa which has a capacity of 25,000. Their main rivals are fellow Tirana team KF Tirana.- History :...
player claimed political asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
following an international match. He played for Le Mans Union Club 72 and Tours FC
Tours FC
Tours Football Club is a French association football club based in Tours, the capital city of the Indre-et-Loire department. The club was formed in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Tours plays its home matches at the Stade de la Vallée du Cher located within...
, before playing for Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
between January 1993
1992-93 in Scottish football
The 1992–93 season was the 96th season of competitive football in Scotland.- Notable events:* Rangers completing a domestic treble of the Premier Division title, FA Cup and League Cup....
and 1995-96
1995-96 in Scottish football
The 1995–96 season was the 99th season of competitive football in Scotland.-Summary:Rangers won the Premier Division with a record 87 points, finishing four ahead of rivals Celtic. Aberdeen were third with 55 points ....
. He became the first Albanian to win an honour in a major European country when he won the 1995 Scottish FA Cup
Scottish Cup 1994-95
The 1994–95 Scottish Cup was the 110th staging of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The Cup was won by Celtic after defeating Airdrieonians in the final.-First round:-Replays:-Second round:-Replays:-Third round:...
with Celtic.
Vata went on to play for Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol is a Greek Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon F.C...
(1996–1998), Energie Cottbus
Energie Cottbus
FC Energie Cottbus is a German association football club based in Cottbus, Lusatia . It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was, at the time, East Germany...
(1998–2001), Rot-Weiß Ahlen
Rot-Weiß Ahlen
Rot Weiss Ahlen is a German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as LR Ahlen for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after the team was relegated to the Regionalliga in that year.-History:The club has...
(January–June 2002) and SK Tirana
SK Tirana
KF Tirana is the most successful Albanian football club earning 47 major trophies in the country and is branch of Multiple Sport Klub of Tirana . KF Tirana is the most popular football club in the country with a considerable number of supporters...
(2002–2003). This was followed by a spell in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, 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
KF Partizani Tirana
Futboll Klub or Klubi Sportiv Partizani is an Albanian football club, playing in the capital, Tirana, and founded in 1946. Their first participation in the Albanian National Championship was in 1947....
. He was capped 58 times and scored 5 goals for the Albanian national team
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
.
Since retiring from the professional game, Vata has become a sports agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
, specialising in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an football, and facilitating the transfer of players such as Garry O'Connor
Garry O'Connor
Garry Lawrence John O'Connor is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team....
and Aiden McGeady
Aiden McGeady
Aiden McGeady is a Scottish-born Irish footballer who currently plays as a winger for Russian club Spartak Moscow. Although born and brought up in Scotland, McGeady plays internationally for the Republic of Ireland, a country he qualifies for through his grandparents...
.
Early life
Vata was born in the northern city of ShkodërShkodër
Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...
and joined local side Vllaznia Shkodër at a young age, making his first team debut in 1988. Whilst trevelling with Albania's U-21
Albania national under-21 football team
The Albania national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
in France he sought political asylum in 1991.
Club career statistics
|-|1988/89||rowspan="2"|Vllaznia Shkodër
KS Vllaznia Shkodër
Klub Futboll Vllaznia Shkodër is an Albanian football club based in Shkodër. KF Vllaznia have been Albanian champions nine times and won the National Cup six times, the last success coming at the end of the 2007–08 season, after a long 21 year drought in the competition...
||rowspan="2"|Superliga||||
|-
|1989/90||||
|-
|1990/91||Dinamo Tirana
KS Dinamo Tirana
Klubi Sportiv Dinamo Tirana is an Albanian football team, playing in the Albanian capital of Tirana, founded in 1950. They play at the Stadiumi Qemal Stafa which has a capacity of 25,000. Their main rivals are fellow Tirana team KF Tirana.- History :...
||Superliga||6||0
|-
|1991/92||Le Mans||Division 2
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 , formerly known as Division 2, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel , the other being Ligue 1, the country's top football division...
||||
|-
|1991/92||Tours
Tours FC
Tours Football Club is a French association football club based in Tours, the capital city of the Indre-et-Loire department. The club was formed in 1919 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second level of French football. Tours plays its home matches at the Stade de la Vallée du Cher located within...
||Division 2
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 , formerly known as Division 2, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel , the other being Ligue 1, the country's top football division...
||||
|-
|1992/93||Dinamo Tirana
KS Dinamo Tirana
Klubi Sportiv Dinamo Tirana is an Albanian football team, playing in the Albanian capital of Tirana, founded in 1950. They play at the Stadiumi Qemal Stafa which has a capacity of 25,000. Their main rivals are fellow Tirana team KF Tirana.- History :...
||Superliga||||
|-
|1992/93||rowspan="4"|Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
||rowspan="4"|Premier Division
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
||22||2
|-
|1993/94||10||1
|-
|1994/95||7||1
|-
|1995/96||6||0
|-
|1996/97||rowspan="2"|Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol
Apollon Limassol is a Greek Cypriot sports club, based in Limassol. It has football, basketball and volleyball teams. Founded in 1954, Apollon F.C...
||rowspan="2"|First Division
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot Championship First Division is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus. As of 2007 it is sponsored by Marfin Popular Bank and is hence officially known as Marfin Laiki League .-Format:...
||25||4
|-
|1997/98||24||5
|-
|1998/99||rowspan="4"|Energie Cottbus||rowspan="2"|2. Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
||25||0
|-
|1999/00||25||1
|-
|2000/01||rowspan="2"|Bundesliga||30||1
|-
|2001/02||1||0
|-
|2001/02||LR Ahlen||2. Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
||8||0
|-
|2002/03||Tirana
SK Tirana
KF Tirana is the most successful Albanian football club earning 47 major trophies in the country and is branch of Multiple Sport Klub of Tirana . KF Tirana is the most popular football club in the country with a considerable number of supporters...
||Superliga||13||4
|-
|2003||Yokohama||J. League 2
J. League Division 2
The or is the second division of and is the second-tier professional association football league in Japan. Currently, J. League Division 2 is the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The first tier is represented by J...
||24||3
|-
|2003/04||St. Johnstone||First Division
Scottish Football League First Division
The Irn-Bru Scottish Football League First Division Championship is the highest division of the Scottish Football League and the second highest in the Scottish football league system....
||15||0
19||4
||
60||4
49||9
89||2
24||3
241||22
|}
National team statistics
|-|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
|}
Personal life
Vata is married to Anne Frances from Wishaw, Lanarkshire in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, who he met during his time playing at Celtic. They have two son together, both of whom were born in Scotland.