Former German international Labbadia named as new head coach of Nigeria
He takes over from Ajax legend Finidi George who stepped down as coach of the Nigeria national team in less than two months since his appointment.
Labbadia's appointment comes just days before the start of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where the Super Eagles will face Benin Republic at home on September 7th, followed by an away match against Rwanda at Kigali’s Amahoro Stadium three days later.
Although the NFF did not reveal the terms of the contract, the former Germany international will take charge of the three-time African champions immediately.
“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,” a part of the statement made available to Flashscore by the NFF read.
With this, Labbadia becomes the 37th Super Eagles coach ever as well as the sixth German to handle the three-time African kings after Karl-Heinz Marotzke (1970 & 1974), Gottlieb Goller (1981), Manfred Honer (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021).
Who is Bruno Labbadia?
Labbadia is a German football tactician who played as a striker for Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Arminia Bielefeld, and Karlsruher SC.
Born on February 8th, 1966, the coach has Italian ancestry, with family roots tracing back to Lenola, a town in the Lazio region. At the age of 18, he renounced his Italian citizenship and became a German citizen due to a German rule at the time that limited teams to just two foreign players.
He was a prolific striker, netting 103 goals in 328 Bundesliga matches over his career. His impressive tally includes 50 goals for Arminia Bielefeld, 44 for his hometown club Darmstadt 98, and 101 goals in 229 Bundesliga 2 games.
In his final season, 2002/03, he played for German second-tier side Karlsruher SC, scoring 13 goals in 28 appearances.
On the international stage, he earned two caps for the German senior national team, without scoring any goals.
After retiring from playing, he transitioned into coaching, managing Bundesliga clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV, and VfL Wolfsburg. His most recent role was at VfB Stuttgart, where he lasted just four months.
In his ten years as a manager, Nigeria will be the first national team he has ever managed.
