The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially announced the appointment of Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, just in time for the crucial African Cup of Nations qualifier in September.
The NFF shared the news on its official X account on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, following extensive discussions on who should take the reins after Finidi George’s resignation. According to a statement from NFF General Secretary Mohamed Sanusi, Labbadia will immediately step into his role as the 37th head coach of Nigeria’s men’s football team.
The statement read thus,
“The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that it has reached an agreement with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, Super Eagles. 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.”
He is the sixth German to lead the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of 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).
Bringing a wealth of experience, he has coached top European clubs like Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart in recent years, as well as VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen in the past. He also holds a UEFA Pro License.
