Long-serving Bundesliga coach Bruno Labbadia was named Nigeria national team coach, the Nigerian football federation NFF said on Tuesday.
“The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that it has reached an agreement with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men National Team, Super Eagles,” NFF said in a statement.
He’s the sixth German coach to take the position. Others included Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021).
Labbadia’s immediate challenge is to take charge of the three-time African champions for two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic on September 7 and Rwanda on September 10.
Four other matches conclude the qualifying race in the months of October and November.
For Labbadia, it’s his first job as national team coach. In the Bundesliga, he became known for being signed to rescue teams from relegation.
SV Hamburg, VfL Wolfsburg, Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart are among the teams who called him in emergency cases.
