German Bruno Labbadia named as new Nigeria coach

Former German international Bruno Labbadia has been named as Nigeria’s new coach, becoming the third appointment to the post this year.

The Nigeria Football Federation made the announcement on social media on Tuesday, saying his appointment was “with immediate effect” but without giving any details of the contract duration.

Labbadia takes charge 12 days before Nigeria kick off their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a Group D tie at home to neighbours Benin in Uyo. They also play away in Rwanda three days later.

The 58-year-old is a seasoned Bundesliga coach with spells at Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg and Hertha Berlin. This will be his first job outside Germany.

He replaces Finidi George, who was in charge for four matches earlier this year.

Nigeria playing legend George took over after Portuguese José Peseiro, who was in charge for just under two years, did not renew his contract after steering Nigeria to this year's Nations Cup final, where they lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast in February.

The Nigeria job is Labaddia's first outside Germany, where his clubs coached have included Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg and Hertha BSC. In his previous assignment he ended a second stint — for five months — with Stuttgart in April last year.

He played for clubs including FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Köln, Werder Bremen, Arminia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC in the 1990s and early 2000s and turned out twice for Germany.

Reuters