Nigeria confirmed the appointment of German coach Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the country’s national football team on Tuesday.
Labbadia takes charge of the Super Eagles with vast experience in German football having recently managed Stuttgart in the 2022-23 Bundesliga season.
His name appears to be strange to Nigerian football, beating the likes of Herve Renard and Janne Andersson who were rumoured to be favourites for the job.
Who is Bruno Labbadia?
The 58-year-old is a former Germany international who played has a striker before hanging his boots in 2003 and he started his sojourn in coaching that same year.
He spent his playing career in Germany with stints at Bayern Munich, Darmstadt 98, Hamburger, FC Kaiserslautern, FC Koln, Werder Bremen and Karlsruher SC.
Labbadia also played for the German national twice between 1992 and 1995.
How many teams has Labbadia coached?
Just like his playing career, the experienced German coach has spent his entire coaching career in Germany before getting the Super Eagles job.
He started his career in the dugout by coaching Darmstadt 98 between 2003 and 2006, he then joined Greuther Furth, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger where he spent a year each.
Labbadia had his first spell as Stuttgart coach in 2010 but he vacated the role in 2013 to return to Hamburger and he later moved to Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen.
His return to Stuttgart was in 2022 and he spent a year at the MHP Arena and was shown the exit door in April 2023, in what was his most recent job.
Has Labbadia won any title as a coach?
Unfortunately, Labbadia joins the Super Eagles with no trophy in his coaching cabinet.
He is yet to lift a trophy after two decades in coaching but he won the German Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich in 1993-94 season and the German Cup with FC Kaiserslautern as a player.
How many Germans have coached the Super Eagles?
Labbadia will be the sixth German to lead Nigeria senior national team as head coach.
Gernot Rohr was the most recent German to coach the two-time African champions between 2016 and 2021.
Other German nationals who previously took the Super Eagles role were Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Goller, Manfred Honer, and Berti Vogts.
