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NFF Appoints German Bruno Labbadia as New Head Coach for Super Eagles
Credit: Bruno Labbadia/Instagram
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s senior men’s national team. The German tactician, known for his strategic acumen, takes on the role of the 37th head coach following the resignation of Finidi George.
Bruno’s appointment was announced in a tweet this morning, Tuesday, August 27th, via X (formerly Twitter). The statement read, “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’s national team, Super Eagles.”
His role begins immediately, with his first challenge being to lead the three-time African champions in two crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic on Saturday, 7th September in Uyo, and Rwanda on Tuesday, 10th September in Kigali. The qualification campaign will continue with four more matches scheduled for October and November.
Born on 8th February 1966 in Darmstadt, Germany, Bruno Labbadia had a distinguished playing career, earning two caps for the German national team, Die Mannschaft. His club career included stints at Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Arminia Bielefeld, and Karlsruher SC. Notably, he won the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 1994.
As a coach, Bruno has managed high-profile teams such as Hertha Berlin, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen, and he holds a UEFA Pro License.
Bruno is the sixth German coach to lead the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of Karl-Heinz Marotzke (1970-1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008), and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021). His predecessors achieved significant milestones, with Manfred guiding Nigeria to a runner-up finish at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations and Gernot qualifying the team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
