The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has made a statement signing, by appointing Bruno Labbadia as the country’s new men’s head coach, ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
He holds a UEFA Pro License.
The 58-year-old German is a former boss of German sides, Stuggart, Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
He was interviewed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Thursday after collapse in talks with Swede Janne Andersson and Frenchman Herve Renard.
Gustavo Poyet, Aitor Karanka and Fabio Cannavaro were the other contenders interviewed late in the day by the NFF.
According to sources, Mediaage can confirm that a contract with the German has not as yet been signed.
Labbadia’s first game in charge is scheduled to be the Nations Cup qualifier against Benin in Uyo on 7 September before the three-time African champions travel to Rwanda three days later.
Former Sweden coach Andersson, 61, had been in talks with the NFF and looked the frontrunner to take charge with compatriot Peter Wettergren as his assistant.
However, it is believed he would only be available in November due to “personal commitments”.
Despite accepting a lucrative offer, two-time Nations Cup winner Renard, 55, failed to make plans for signing his contract, forcing the NFF to look elsewhere as they searched for Finidi George’s successor.
George Finidi stepped down earlier this year only two matches into a two-year contract. The former Nigerian international had a poor start to World Cup qualification.
The failure to land Renard or Andersson came as a huge blow to NFF president Ibrahim Gusau, who had been negotiating intensely with both camps.
In a race against time, the NFF opened talks with Labbadia, former Sunderland, Brighton and Greece manager Poyet, Karanka, who had spells in charge of Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough, and former Italy captain Cannavaro.
“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”, NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi said in a statement.
Nigeria turn to a German again
Labbadia is the sixth German to take charge of the Super Eagles, following Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who had two stints between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Goller (1981), Manfred Honer (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021).
But he will have his work cut out to manage expectations.
What seemed to many like a comfortable World Cup qualifying draw has proven to be more difficult than expected, with unfancied Rwanda leading the way in Group C and only Zimbabwe boasting a worse record than Nigeria after four rounds of the 10-game campaign.
He will also need to immediately get the media and a jaded fanbase onside.
There is currently no permanent home ground for men’s and women’s national teams, with recent fixtures mostly hosted in Uyo by default as the Godswill Akpabio Stadium is the only ground that satisfies the Confederation of African Football’s requirements for international football.
Similarly, there is no bespoke training facility in the vein of England’s St George’s Park, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI training complex or France’s Clairefontaine, and arrangements are typically made on an ad-hoc basis.
There is also the issue of players being owed allowances and match bonuses, something that persists within the current squad.
Labbadia is now faced with two important qualification campaigns for the 2025 Nations Cup and 2026 World Cup.
He will have little time to get to know his players but immediate results will still be expected.