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==