The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that it has agreed to hire German tactician Bruno Labbadia as Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men’s National Team, the Super Eagles.
In the early hours of Tuesday, NFF General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi announced: “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 has immediate effect.”
Born on February 8, 1966, in Darmstadt, Germany, Labbadia received two caps for the German national team during his playing career, which included stops at home team Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld, and Karlsruher SC. He won the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich as a player in 1994.
German, Bruno Labbadia, becomes 37th Head Coach of the @NGSuperEagles
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. pic.twitter.com/AKq92upW4g— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) August 27, 2024
He has coached well-known clubs such as Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart this decade, as well as VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen in the past, and holds a UEFA Pro License.
He is only the sixth German to lead the Super Eagles, succeeding Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who served twice between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008), and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021).
Höner led the Eagles to the runner-up spot in the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified and led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final in Russia.
Labbadi’s immediate challenge is to lead the three-time African champions in two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Saturday, September 7th in Uyo) and Rwanda (Tuesday, September 10th in Kigali), with four more matches to complete the qualifying race in October and November.
The appointment follows the Super Eagles’ draw against Benin Republic in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification race.
The Super Eagles are in Group D and will face Benin Republic, who upset them recently in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria will face Libya and Rwanda in the upcoming World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. The draw took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month.
The qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON will start in September and end in November 2025. However, the tournament will be place between December 21, 2025 and January 18, 2026.
Caged Eagles
Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 qualifiers provide an opportunity for the Super Eagles to redeem themselves after coming second in the competition’s previous edition earlier this year.
The Super Eagles only achieved three points from four games in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the most recent of which was a humiliating loss to Benin Republic’s Cheetahs.
That result sparked a flood of criticism from supporters, who wondered what was wrong with a team that featured Africa’s top player, Victor Osimhen (who did not play against Benin), and a slew of other talents.
Following the setback, calls for the team’s head coach, George Finidi, to be fired reached new heights. The former international resigned from his position a few days later, nearly two months after being appointed.
