Books: Football, Freedom and Paradise: My Story by Rudi Vata (2024)

Football, Freedom and Paradise! is the fascinating and inspirational autobiography of former footballer Rudi Vata, a man who overcame state oppression to attain the most basic of human necessities – his freedom.

Born in Albania in 1969, he was raised under the oppressive communist dictatorship that ruled the country for decades. In a regime that curtailed all the basic freedoms of civilised society, Rudi determined that, ‘You do not choose to be born under a dictatorship, but you choose whether to live under it.’

Rudi devoted himself to football – the sport that would provide his road to freedom and self-determination. After playing for his country in France in 1991, he defected and sought political asylum. Thus began the adventure that would take him around the world to play the beautiful game, most notably in a successful spell at Celtic FC, and live as a free man.

This is not just a football story – it’s the tale of a man who fought for his freedom, and who to this day never takes that freedom for granted.