Rocco Vata (born 18 April 2005) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for

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club Watford. Born in Scotland, he is a youth international for Ireland.

Club career

Celtic

Born in Glasgow, Vata followed in the footsteps of his father, former professional footballer and Celtic player Rudi Vata by joining Celtic at the age of seven. He signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2021. He was included in pre-season training with the Celtic first team ahead of the 2022–23 season, but was assigned to the club's

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in 2022, making his debut in the Lowland League the same year. Following impressive performances for Celtic's youth and B teams, he is seen as one of Celtic and Ireland's most promising players, and was linked with Italian clubs

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, Roma and AC Milan, as well as English sides

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and

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in October 2022. Vata made his first team debut for Celtic on 28 December 2022, coming on as a substitute for Matt O'Riley as Celtic beat Hibernian 4–0 away at Easter Road. He scored his first senior goal in a 5–0 rout of Buckie Thistle on 21 January 2024 in the

2023–24 Scottish Cup The 2023–24 Scottish Cup (known as the Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the 139th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The 2023–24 edition marks the 150th anniversary of the tournament ...

Watford

On 5 July 2024, Vata signed for

club Watford on a four-year contract.

Personal life

Rocco is the son of former footballer Rudi Vata.

International career

Vata is eligible to represent Albania through his father (who played for the Albania national team), the Republic of Ireland through his grandmother on his mother's side, Scotland through his mother and by virtue of being born there, and Montenegro. On 31 August 2023, Vata received his first call up to the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for their

2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification 5 (five) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typ ...

fixtures against Turkey U21 and San Marino U21 on 8 and 12 September 2023. He made his U21 debut in the San Marino game, scoring twice in a 3–0 win at Turners Cross. On 22 March 2024, he scored a hat-trick on his second appearance for the side, in a 7–0 win away to San Marino U21.

Honours

Celtic * Scottish Premiership: 2022–23, 2023–24 * Scottish Cup: 2023–24

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vata, Rocco 2005 births Living people Footballers from Glasgow Republic of Ireland men's association footballers Republic of Ireland men's youth international footballers Scottish men's footballers Irish people of Albanian descent Irish people of Montenegrin descent Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish people of Albanian descent Scottish people of Montenegrin descent Men's association football midfielders Lowland Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players Celtic F.C. players Watford F.C. players 21st-century Scottish sportsmen