Credit: Bruno Labbadia/Instagram
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has named Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s senior men’s national team. The German coach, renowned for his tactical abilities, assumes the position of the 37th head coach following the departure of Finidi George.
Bruno’s appointment was shared in a tweet this morning, Tuesday, August 27th, via X (formerly Twitter). The announcement stated, “The Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed that German coach, Bruno Labbadia, will lead Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, the Super Eagles.”
He steps into his new role immediately, with his initial task being to guide 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. His club career included playing for various teams such as 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 prominent teams such as Hertha Berlin, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen, and he holds a UEFA Pro License.
Bruno becomes the sixth German coach to lead the Super Eagles, following the likes 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 Africa Cup of Nations in 1988 and Gernot qualifying the team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.