The super eagles are set to go into their upcoming AFCON qualifiers with a permanent head coach, as Bruno Labbadia has been officially announced as the new head coach of the Nigerian male national team.
The 58-year-old is of Italian descent, with his roots in the Lazio region, but he was born in Darmstadt, Germany. Bruno was a former player, who thrived in the striking position. His playing career at youth level dates back to the 70s, before making his senior professional debut in 1984. His professional career spanned across 8 different teams in Germany, including Bayern Munich (1991-1994), and he scored 204 in 557 appearances across his senior club career.
His tenure on the sidelines as a manager is currently 21 years old, with his first spell in the 2003/04 season. Labbadia was hired as the manager of Darmstadt 98 on 8 May 2003. His first match was a 2–1 win against TSG Wörsdorf. In his first season, Darmstadt won promotion to the Regionalliga.
He has since then managed Bayer Leverkusen, Greuther Furth, Hamburger SV, Stuttgart, Hertha BSC and Wolfsburg.
The NFF announced the appointment in a statement in the early hours of Tuesday via a statement, stating:
“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”, the statement read.
The statement further indicated that Bruno is now the sixth German national to handle the super eagles team.
“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”.
Bruno’s first task would be to compete on the continental front, as the three-time AFCON champions seek to qualify for the next edition of the AFCON. They have games lined up against Benin Republic on the 7th of September, and Rwanda on the 10th of September.
