The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has officially appointed Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles. Labbadia is a German-Italian tactician who has managed several top-tier clubs in Germany, including Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, and Hertha Berlin. He has a reputation for being a flexible and pragmatic coach who can adapt his tactics to suit the strengths of his squad.
Labbadia’s first challenge will be to lead the Super Eagles in two crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic on September 7 and Rwanda on September 10. The Super Eagles are in Group D, competing alongside Benin, Rwanda, and Libya for a spot in the 2025 AFCON tournament ³.
Labbadia is the sixth German coach to lead the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts, and Gernot Rohr . 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.
