NFF Appoints German Labbadia as Super Eagles’ New Head Coach
Following George Finidi’s resignation two months after his appointment, the Nigeria Football Federation has selected German coach Bruno Labbadia to lead the Senior Men’s National Team, the Super Eagles.
In a statement on Tuesday, NFF General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi announced, “The NFF Executive Committee has approved the Technical and Development Sub-Committee’s recommendation to appoint Mr. Bruno Labbadia as Head Coach of the Super Eagles, effective immediately.”
Born in Darmstadt, Germany, on February 8, 1966, Labbadia earned two caps for the German national team during a playing career that included stints at clubs such as Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld, and Karlsruher SC, winning the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 1994.
German, Bruno Labbadia, becomes 37th Head Coach of the NGSuperEagles
The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed German coach Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles, the Senior Men’s National Team. pic.twitter.com/AKq92upW4g
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) August 27, 2024.
He has coached notable teams like Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart this decade, and previously VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen, among others, holding a UEFA Pro License.
He is the sixth German, after Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts, and Gernot Rohr, to lead the Super Eagles.
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Höner guided the Eagles to a runner-up finish at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified Nigeria for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Labbadi’s immediate task is to lead the three-time African champions in two qualifying matches for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations against Benin Republic on September 7 in Uyo, and Rwanda on September 10 in Kigali, with four more matches to follow in October and November.
His appointment follows the Super Eagles’ draw against Benin Republic in the qualification race for the 2025 AFCON.
In Group D, the Super Eagles will also compete against Libya and Rwanda, who are part of their World Cup qualifying group for the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico in two years.
The qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON will run from September to November 2025, with the tournament scheduled for December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
The AFCON 2025 qualifiers present an opportunity for the Super Eagles of Nigeria to redeem themselves after facing setbacks since coming in second place in the last edition of the competition earlier this year.
The Super Eagles only earned three points from four games in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Their latest disappointment was a loss to the Benin Republic national team, the Cheetahs.
This defeat led to a wave of criticism from fans who were questioning what went wrong with a team that boasts Africa’s best player, Victor Osimhen (who did not play against Benin), and several other star players.
Calls for the removal of George Finidi as the team’s head coach intensified after this defeat. Shortly after, the former international resigned from the position, just about two months after being appointed.
