The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have announced a deal with Bruno Labbadia to become the new head coach of the Super Eagles.
The 58-year-old will become the sixth German to coach Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, and he will get his baptism in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Benin next month.
Labbadia played for Hamburg, Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich and other clubs and as a coach, he has had stints with Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart whom he managed in the 2022/23 season.
He amassed two caps with the German national team during his playing career.
NFF appoint Bruno Labbadia to Finidi George as Super Eagles coach
Labbadia will replace Finidi George, who resigned from the post after just two games into his reign and since then, the Super Eagles have not had a coach until Tuesday’s announcement.
The duration of the contract, and the assistants he will be working with, were not announced.
As the day broke in Nigeria and fans woke up to the news, a lot went on social media platforms, especially X (formerly known as Twitter) to express their opinions about Labbadia's appointment.
Some gave him a warm reception and congratulated him, while others teased that with Labbadia, Nigeria will win the Africa Cup of Nations
However, a lot pointed out the fact that he was sacked as Stuttgart coach barely four months into the job
A lot were unhappy with the appointment of Labbadia as the new head coach, accusing the NFF of hiring substandard coaches for the Super Eagles.
Others joked that the announcement was done in the night, like Nigeria’s past general election results announcement overnight.
There were others who tried to suggest how Labbadia’s tactics work and how the Super Eagles will look like under the German
As the case with Nigerians and their love for humour, someone asked if the coach used ‘juju’ to shower before his interview with the Nigeria Football Federation considering the various names mentioned in the running for the job
A few advised the NFF to give the new coach a free hand to pick and select his team if Labbadia is to succeed in Nigeria
Bruno Labbadia will start his reign as the Super Eagles with an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin on September 7, and they face Rwanda days later.
