Born in Darmstadt, Germany on 8th February 1966, Labbadia, won two caps for the German national
team 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. He 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, and 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 the 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
October and November.
His appointment comes after the Super Eagles drew against familiar foes the Benin Republic in the
qualification race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations ,AFCON.
Placed in Group D, the Super Eagles face Benin Republic who defeated them recently in a 2026 World
Cup qualifiers.
In the draw ceremony held in Johannesburg, South Africa last month, Nigeria will also play Libya and
Rwanda – who are also part of the Super Eagles’ lot for the race to the World Cup in the USA, Canada,
and Mexico in two years.
The qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON will begin in September and end in November 2025. But the
competition will be held between December 21 2025 and January 18, 2026.