The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed German tactician Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles. The announcement was made on Tuesday morning via the NFF’s X handle.
The statement from the NFF read, “The Nigeria Football Federation has reached an agreement with German tactician Bruno Labbadia to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, the Super Eagles.”
According to Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, the NFF’s General Secretary, “The NFF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development sub-committee to appoint Mr. Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles.”
Labbadia is the 37th Head Coach of the Super Eagles, succeeding Finidi George, who recently resigned.
Born on 8 February 1966, Bruno Labbadia is a German football manager and former striker. His playing career includes winning the DFB-Pokal with 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1989-90 and the Bundesliga with FC Bayern Munich in 1993-94. He was also capped twice for the German national team.
Labbadia becomes the sixth German to manage the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts, and Gernot Rohr. Notably, Höner led the Eagles to a runner-up finish at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr guided Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Labbadia’s immediate task is to lead the three-time African champions in two crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches: against Benin Republic on Saturday, 7th September in Uyo, and Rwanda on Tuesday, 10th September in Kigali. The Super Eagles will also play four more qualifying matches in October and November.
The Super Eagles will face Benin Republic on 7th September and then take on Rwanda three days later in their quest to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
