By Abiola Olawale
German tactician Bruno Labbadia has been appointed the new head coach of the Nigerian men’s national team, the Super Eagles.
The Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) made this announcement on Tuesday after months of searching for a new coach for the Super Eagles.
The New Diplomat reports that Labbadia was a striker during his playing days. During his playing career, he featured for several clubs, including FC Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen, and Bayern Munich, in an eventful career.
Labbadia won the DFB-Pokal with FC Kaiserslautern and the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich and earned two caps for Germany before he retired in 2003.
He went straight into coaching, and just like his playing career, the 58-year-old has managed only German clubs, including Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV, and Wolfsburg.
Labbadia’s last coaching assignment was at VfB Stuttgart, a club he joined in December 2022 and was sacked in April 2023, after the team dropped to the last place on the Bundesliga table.
The former FC Koln boss will take charge of Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Benin Republic and Rwanda next month.
*Playing Career*
1984–1987: Darmstadt 98, played 105 games and scored 44 goals.
1987–1988 Hamburger SV, played 41 games and scored 11 goals.
1988–1991 1. FC Kaiserslautern, played 67 games and scored 20 goals.
1991–1994 Bayern Munich, played 82 games and scored 28 goals.
1994–1995 1. FC Köln, played 41 games and scored 15 goals.
1995–1998 Werder Bremen, played 63 games and scored 18 goals.
1998–2001 Arminia Bielefeld, played 98 and scored 50 goals.
2001–2003 Karlsruher SC, played 60 games and scored 18 goals.
*Managerial career*
2003–2006 Darmstadt 98
2007–2008 Greuther Fürth
2008–2009 Bayer Leverkusen
2009–2010 Hamburger SV
2010–2013 VfB Stuttgart
2015–2016 Hamburger SV
2018–2019 VfL Wolfsburg
2020–2021 Hertha BSC
2022–2023 VfB Stuttgart
