Sports
German, Bruno Labbadia, becomes 37th Head Coach of the Super Eagles
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 General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said in the early hours of Tuesday: “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.”
Born in Darmstadt, Germany on 8th February 1966, Labbadia, who won two caps for Die Mannschaft in his playing career that took him through clubs such as home-town team Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC, triumphed in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich as a player in 1994.
He coached famous names Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart this decade, and previously, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen, among others, and holds a UEFA Pro License.
He is only the sixth German, after Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who had two stints between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021) to lead the Super Eagles. Höner led the Eagles to runner-up position at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified and led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.
Labbadi’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 (Saturday 7th September in Uyo) and Rwanda (Tuesday, 10th September in Kigali), with four other matches to conclude the qualifying race following in the months of October and November.
LIST OF SUPER EAGLES’ COACHES IN HISTORY
John Finch (England) – 1949
Daniel Anyiam (Nigeria) – 1954-1956; 1964-1965
Les Courtier (England) – 1956-1960
Moshe Beit Halevi (Israel) – 1960-1961
George Vardar (Hungary) – 1961-1963
Joey Blackwell (England) – 1963 – 1964
József Ember (Hungary) – 1965-1968
Sabino Barinaga (Spain) – 1968-1969
Peter ‘Eto’ Amaechina (Nigeria) – 1969-1970
Karl-Heinz Marotzke (Germany) – 1970-1971; 1974
Jorge Penna (Brazil) – 1972-1973
Jelisavčić ‘Father Tiko’ Tihomir (Yugoslavia) – 1974-1978
Otto Glória (Brazil) – 1979-1982
Gottlieb Göller (Germany) – 1981
Adegboye Onigbinde (Nigeria) – 1983-1984; 2002
Chris Udemezue (Nigeria) – 1984-1986
Patrick Ekeji (Nigeria) – 1985
Paul Hamilton (Nigeria) – 1987; 1989
Manfred Höner (Germany) – 1988-1989
Clemens Westerhof (Netherlands) – 1989-1994
Amodu Shaibu (Nigeria) – 1994-1995; 1996-1997; 2001-2002; 2008-2010
Johannes Bonfrere (Netherlands) – 1995-1996; 1999-2001
Philippe Troussier (France) – 1997
Monday Sinclair (Nigeria) – 1997-1998
Bora Milutinović (Yugoslavia) – 1998
Thijs Libregts (Netherlands) – 1999
Christian Chukwu (Nigeria) – 2002-2005
Augustine Eguavoen (Nigeria) – 2005-2007; 2010; 2022
Berti Vogts (Germany) – 2007-2008
Lars Lagerbäck (Sweden) – 2010
Samson Siasia (Nigeria) – 2010-2011; 2016
Stephen Keshi (Nigeria) – 2011-2014; 2015
Sunday Oliseh (Nigeria) – 2015-2016
Gernot Rohr (Germany) – 2016-2021
José Peseiro (Portugal) – 2022-2024
Finidi George (Nigeria) – 2024
Bruno Labbadia (Germany) – 2024-?
Already relegated Eleven Wonders FC return to action on Friday with a determined quest to salvage pride as they host Bechem United FC at the Swedru Sports Stadium in the Premier League.
Despite their confirmed drop, Eleven Wonders remain committed to finishing the season on a competitive note. However, their campaign has been a difficult one, reflected in their poor run of form.
They are winless in their last five league matches, managing just a single draw against FC Samartex 1996 while suffering four defeats.
The numbers further highlight their struggles this season. With only 10 points from 28 matches, Eleven Wonders sit at the bottom of the table, having scored the fewest goals (17) and conceded the most (53) in the league.
Their home performances have offered little relief, with just one win, one draw, and three consecutive defeats in their last five matches on home soil—making them the weakest home side in the competition.
In contrast, Bechem United travel to Swedru with renewed confidence.
The Hunters have shown encouraging improvement, picking up points in four of their last five matches, including back-to-back 2-1 victories, two draws, and just one defeat. They currently sit 13th on the table with 37 points from 28 games, albeit with a game in hand over some of their rivals.
Having scored 25 goals and conceded 31 this season, Bechem United remain locked in a tense battle to avoid relegation, sitting just two points above the drop zone. While their recent form is promising, their away record remains a concern.
They have managed just one win, two draws, and ten defeats in 13 away matches this season.
That solitary away victory came in a crucial 2-1 triumph over FC Samartex 1996 at the Nsenkyire Sports Arena on matchday 27—a result they will look to build upon as they aim to secure valuable points on the road.
The Black Queens will on Wednesday, April 29, learn their opponents for the African qualifying phase of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament.
The draw, organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), will take place at CAF headquarters in Cairo and will be streamed live on CAF TV from 15:00 local time (12:00 GMT).
Ghana is among 35 national teams participating in the qualification campaign, which will determine the two African representatives for the women’s football tournament at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, scheduled for July 11 to 29, 2028.
The qualification series will be played over five rounds, with each nation aiming to secure one of the two available slots for Africa at the global event in Los Angeles.
Having recently climbed to 59th in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings and currently ranked third in Africa, the draw marks the beginning of another major international mission, the quest to seek a return to Olympic football.
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