Just in: German Bruno Labbadia is Super Eagles new coach, says NFF

Just in: German Bruno Labbadia is Super Eagles new coach, says NFF

The Nigeria Football Federation says it has sealed an agreement with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to take charge as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles.

NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said, in a statement on Tuesday, said, “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. The appointment is with immediate effect.”

The new handler was born in Darmstadt, Germany on February 8, 1966.

He won two caps for the German national team in his playing career that took him through clubs such as home-town team Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC.

He triumphed in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich as a player in 1994.

He coached famous names Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart this decade, and previously, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen, among others, and holds a UEFA Pro Licence.

He is the sixth German to lead the Super Eagles, coming after Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who had two stints between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021).

Höner led the Eagles to the runner-up position at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified and led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.

Labbadi’s immediate challenge is to take charge of the three-time African champions for two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Saturday 7th September in Uyo) and Rwanda (Tuesday, 10th September in Kigali).

The four other matches concluding the qualifying race will hold in October and November.

His appointment is coming after the Super Eagles drew against familiar foes the Benin Republic in the qualification race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The Super Eagles in Group D will face Benin Republic who defeated them recently in a 2026 World Cup qualifiers.