NFF appoints German tactician Bruno Labbadia as the new Super Eagles head coach

NIGERIAN Football Federation (NFF) officials have appointed German coach Bruno Labbadia as the new Super Eagles manager with a mandate to qualify the team for the 2016 World Cup.

Mr Labbadia, 58, was a striker during his playing days, featuring for several clubs including Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich during an eventful career. He later won the German FA Cup with FC Kaiserslautern and the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich and earned two caps for Germany before he retired in 2003.

Over the last few months, the NFF has been searching for a head coach after former winner Finidi George resigned after picking up just one point from two World Cup qualifiers. Earlier today, the NFF board finally decided on Mr Labbadia and he has agreed to take up the appointment with immediate effect.

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."

Mr Labbadia’s last coaching assignment was at VfB Stuttgart, a club he joined in December 2022, from which he was sacked in April 2023, after the team dropped to the last place on the Bundesliga table. He will now take charge of Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Benin Republic and Rwanda next month.