The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have appointed German tactician Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles.
Following months of speculation over who would succeed previous incumbent Finidi George who resigned after only two months in the Nigerian national team job, the NFF announced on Tuesday morning that the German manager had agreed to take charge of the Super Eagles with immediate effect.
A statement from the Nigerian football governing body read:
“German, Bruno Labbadia @brunlabb. becomes 37th Head Coach of the Super Eagles.
“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 National Team, Super Eagles.
“NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said in the early hours of Tuesday: “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 58 year-old becomes the sixth German to lead the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of:
(1) Karl-Heinz Marotzke who had two spells between 1970 and 1974
(2) Gottlieb Göller who took up the role in 1981
(3) Manfred Höner between 1988 and 1989 and led the national team to second place at the 1988 African Cup of Nations
(4) Berti Vogts between 2007 and 2008
(5) Gernot Rohr who had a five-year stint from 2016 to 2021 and took Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 2019 African Cup of Nations
Labbadia’s last role was as manager of Bundesliga side Stuttgart where he lasted for 119 days between December 2022 and April 2023 during which he gathered two wins, 3 draws and 7 defeats from 12 matches.
In what will be his first job as a national team manager, he will be tasked with reviving the Super Eagles’ hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup as well as securing a ticket for the 2025 African Cup of Nations taking place in Morocco.
His first two games will be the AFCON qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda next month.
