August 28 – African powerhouse Nigeria have named Bruno Labbadia as their new manager after the successive departures of José Peseiro and Finidi George.
On Tuesday, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) confirmed the appointment of Labbadia, the Super Eagles’s third coach in 2024. The German has enjoyed previous managerial spells at Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, Wolfsburg, Stuttgart and Hertha Berlin.
“The NFF executive committee has approved the recommendation of its technical and development sub-committee to appoint Bruno Labbadia as the head coach of the Super Eagles,” said Mohammed Sanusi, NFF general secretary, in a statement. “The appointment is with immediate effect.”
Labbadia succeeds George, who resigned earlier this summer after leading Nigeria in just four matches. George had stepped in after the exit of Peseiro, who managed the Nigerians at the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year. In Ivory Coast, his side eliminated Cameroon, Angola and South Africa en route to the final, but ultimately failed to clinch the continental crown losing 2-1 to the host nation.
The 58-year-old won’t have much of a honeymoon in Nigeria. In September, he debuts against Benin at home before taking on Rwanda in Kigali in two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The NFF held talks with Hervé Renard and Janne Andersson, but those negotiations collapsed, according to the BBC.
Following in the footsteps of Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Goller, Manfred Honer, Berti Vogts and more recently Gernot Rohr, Labbadia will be the sixth Germany in charge of the Super Eagles.
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