Rudi Vata, born on 13 February 1970 in Albania, is a retired footballer well known in defence roles, primarily as a central defender. Of Albanian heritage, Vata stands at a respectable 6ft (1.84m) and tipped the scales at around 12st 12lbs (82kgs) during his career.
Vata commenced his illustrious tenure with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership in July of 1992. Over the course of his first season with the club (1992 - 1993), Vata made 22 first team appearances and netted two goals in league matches. The following season (1993 - 1994), Vata maintained his consistent performance, taking the field for Celtic on ten occasions and scoring a further goal. In the 1994 - 1995 season, he made seven appearances for the first team whilst also finding the back of the net once. Vata's final season in the green and white hoops (1995 - 1996) saw him making six first team appearances.
December of 1995 saw a change in scenery for Vata as he transferred from Celtic to Apollon Limassol in Cyprus's First Division for a fee of approximately £350k. His stint in Cyprus continued for two seasons, during which he made a total of 49 league appearances and scored nine goals.
In July of 1998, Vata moved from Cyprus's sunny climes to Germany to join Energie Cottbus in the 3. Liga. His pursuit of the beautiful game in Germany spanned four seasons, amassing a commendable 81 league appearances and scoring two goals.
Vata's colourful career saw another transfer in January of 2002 when he left Energie Cottbus for Ahlen in the German Oberliga. In his sole season with Ahlen, Vata made eight appearances in league matches before eventually transferring to Yokohama FC in Japan's J2 League in January of 2003. Here, he made 24 first team appearances and scored three goals.
The circle of football life brought Vata back to the familiar terrains of Scottish football with a transfer to St Johnstone in January of 2004. His tenure with St Johnstone saw him making 15 league appearances before moving on to other endeavours in May of 2004.
