Rudi Vata will be in Germany to watch Albania compete against Italy, Spain and Croatia at Euro 2024.
Albania at a major tournament? No chance. Not the impoverished communist state that he was so desperate to flee, and that he did so in 1991 when he claimed political asylum in France.
“We were people who didn’t understand ourselves and who didn’t believe in ourselves. We didn’t understand because we had an inferior mentality. Vata continues: “I thought, oh my God, I am going now to France and the French are the gods of football, with Jean-Pierre Papin, Eric Cantona, Basile Boli and Laurent Blanc.
It’s their second appearance at the Euros, after 2016 when they bowed out after defeats to Switzerland and France, and a win over Romania. “They are a small nation like our nation, but they have produced some superstars and they have played some fantastic football. Just eight of Sylvinho’s 26-man squad is Albanian-born, with five players the sons of emigrants who settled in Switzerland, three each in Kosovo and North Macedonia, two in Germany and Greece, and one each in England, Italy and Spain.
He is constantly asked if his son - who was born in Glasgow and qualifies for Ireland through an Irish grandparent - will jump ship one day.
Republic Of Ireland National Football Team Celtic FC Rocco Vata Albania Football Team Germany Football Team Italy Football Team Spain Football Team Croatia Football Team Italy Germany Spain European Championship Fifa World Cup Jean-Pierre Papin Eric Cantona Basile Boli Laurent Blanc Bayern Munich Euro 2012 Cristiano Ronaldo Luca Modric
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