The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that German coach Bruno Labbadia will take over as the 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 said: “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.”
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Born on February 8, 1966, in Darmstadt, Germany, Bruno Labbadia earned two caps for the German national team during his playing career, which included stints at clubs like Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Arminia Bielefeld, and Karlsruher SC. He won the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 1994.
In coaching, Labbadia has managed prominent teams such as Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart in recent years, and previously VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen. He holds a UEFA Pro License.
Labbadia becomes the sixth German to lead the Super Eagles, following Karl-Heinz Marotzke (1970-1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008), and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021).
Höner guided the Eagles to a runner-up finish at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr successfully led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.
Labbadia’s immediate task is to lead the Super Eagles, the three-time African champions, in two Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches: against Benin Republic on September 7 in Uyo and Rwanda on September 10 in Kigali. He will also oversee four additional qualifying matches in October and November.
His appointment follows the Super Eagles’ draw against Benin Republic in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification campaign. In Group D, Nigeria will also face Libya and Rwanda, with these teams also part of their World Cup qualification group for 2026.
The 2025 AFCON qualifiers will run from September 2024 to November 2025, with the tournament scheduled to take place from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
