Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Rudi Vata (born February 13, 1969 in Shkodër) is a former Albanian footballer who played as a defender. 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. Retired in 2005 with KF Partizani Tirana, he became a sports agent. He was capped 58 times and scored 5 goals for the Albanian national team.