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NFF Appoints Bruno Labbadia as New Head Coach of Super Eagles

Published by Tope Fakinlede on August 28th, 2024.

NFF Appoints Bruno Labbadia as New Head Coach of Super Eagles

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially named German coach Bruno Labbadia as the new Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men’s National Team, the Super Eagles.

Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, General Secretary of the NFF, confirmed early Tuesday: “The NFF Executive Committee has given its approval for Mr. Bruno Labbadia’s appointment as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles, effective immediately.”

Labbadia, born on February 8, 1966, in Darmstadt, Germany, had a notable playing career with stints at clubs including Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Arminia Bielefeld, and Karlsruher SC. He secured a Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich in 1994. His coaching career includes roles at prominent clubs such as Hertha Berlin, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen. He holds a UEFA Pro License.

Labbadia is the sixth German to coach the Super Eagles, following Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts, and Gernot Rohr. Notably, Höner guided the team to the runner-up position in the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Labbadia’s first major tasks will be overseeing the Super Eagles in two crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic on September 7 in Uyo and Rwanda on September 10 in Kigali, with additional qualifying matches scheduled for October and November.