Nigeria Football Federation says agreement has been reached with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men’s National Team, Super Eagles, ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) qualifier opener at home in Uyo against Benin Republic , next month, 7th of September, 2024
NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi who announced this in the early hours of Tuesday, said that the Federation's Executive Committee had 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.
Bruno Labbadia will also fine-tune the three times African champions' preparation for the other AFCON qualifiers against Rwanda (Tuesday, 10th September in Kigali), in addition to four other matches to conclude the qualifying race in October and November.
The German will equally face the major challenge of lifting Nigeria out of delicate situation in the 2026 Worldcup qualifiers in Group D against familer foes , Benin Republic, Rwamda, South Africa, Losetho and Zimbabwe
Born in Darmstadt, Germany on 8th February 1966, Labbadia, 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 License.
He is only the sixth German, 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) to lead the Super Eagles.
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.
His appointment comes after the Super Eagles drew against familiar foes the Benin Republic in the qualification race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Placed in Group D, the Super Eagles face Benin Republic who defeated them recently in a 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON will begin in September and end in November 2025. But the competition will be held between December 21 2025 and January 18, 2026.
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