“I changed a jersey with Eric Cantona, and then you wake up in a refugee camp,” – Rudi Vata

Rudi Vata, the Albanian defender who played for Celtic under Liam Brady, Lou Macari, and Tommy Burns in the early 1990s, has revealed the incredible story of how he became a refugee immediately after sharing a pitch with Eric Cantona, Jean Pieree Papin, and Didier Deschamps.

“48 hours after playing in the Parc Des Princes against all those big stars – Deschamps, Cantona, Laurent Blanc, Platini – I changed a jersey with Eric Cantona, and then you wake up in a refugee camp, and you’re classified the same as any other refugee,” Rudi Vata said [Caughtoffside]

“You don’t get any special treatment. You get the same food, the same kind of bed. The rules and regulations are the same for everybody.”

At 22 years of age others in a similar situation would perhaps see that as the end of a fledgling football career, but Vata has always believed that he will make it in the game.

“I never thought for one moment that I wasn’t going to make it. I could see I was thousands of miles away from making it, but somehow deep inside me I knew with my work, with my dedication, with my mentality I’m going to make it, and the opportunity will come.”

That opportunity came after then-Celtic manager Liam Brady saw Rudi Vata playing for his country against the Republic of Ireland in May 1992 and decided to bring him to Glasgow.

Vata’s dream move was not without its challenges.

“It was tough, but for me it was important to learn about Celtic, and the best people to tell you about Celtic were the Scottish boys. Paul McStay Peter Grant, John Collins, Joe Miller, Charlie Nicholas.

I was lucky in that aspect as I was hungry to know about the mentality of Celtic, and the mentality of winning, because I wanted to become a winner myself. So I learned a lot, which was very important to me at the time. That connection with the club was very natural.”

Rudi Vata spoke with Tino on The Celtic Exchange Podcast about the release of his biography “Football, Freedom, and Paradise!” co-written with Gerard McDade.

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