[1] 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 became the first Albanian to win an honour in a major European country when he won the 1995 Scottish FA Cup with Celtic.
[5] 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.
[6] He made his debut for Albania in a May 1990 European Championship qualification match away against Iceland and earned a total of 59 caps, scoring 5 goals.
[10] Rocco then joined and progressed through the youth sector of Celtic (one of his father's former clubs), signing a professional contract with the Scottish team in July 2021.