The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially appointed German coach Bruno Labbadia as the new Head Coach of the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s Senior Men’s National Team.
Announcing the decision, NFF General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi confirmed, “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 takes effect immediately.”
Born on February 8, 1966, in Darmstadt, Germany, Labbadia had a remarkable playing career, earning two caps for the German national team and playing for several top clubs, including Bayern Munich, where he won the Bundesliga title in 1994. As a coach, Labbadia has managed prominent teams like Hertha Berlin, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen. He also holds a UEFA Pro License, marking him as a seasoned professional ready to lead the Super Eagles.
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 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.
Labbadi’s immediate challenge is to take charge of the three-time African champions for two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Saturday 7th Septemberin Uyo) and Rwanda (Tuesday, 10th Septemberin Kigali), with four other matches to conclude the qualifying race following in the months of October and November.
No comments:
Post a Comment