Super Eagles’ new coach Bruno Labbadia receives 40-man list ahead of Benin, Rwanda AFCONQ ties

The Nigeria Football Federation is set to hand over the 40-man provisional squad for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers to newly appointed Super Eagles coach Bruno Labbadia, Soccernet.ng reports.

The list, which was submitted to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) weeks ago to meet the deadline, includes invitation letters already sent to the players’ respective clubs, as per BSN.

Labbadia, the former VfB Stuttgart manager, was officially announced as the new head coach of the Super Eagles on Tuesday morning.

The 58-year-old gaffer takes over immediately from Austin Eguavoen, the NFF’s Technical Director, who was on standby to lead the team and announce the final squad for the qualifiers.

Labbadia, who is the sixth German to manage the Super Eagles, now faces the crucial task of selecting the final 23-man squad from the 40-man provisional list for the qualifiers.

The Super Eagles will face Benin Republic in Uyo on Saturday, 7th September, and Rwanda on Tuesday, 10th September, in Kigali.

Born in Darmstadt, Germany, on 8th February 1966, Labbadia brings a wealth of experience, having played for clubs such as Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV.

He also coached teams like Hertha Berlin, VfL Wolfsburg, and Bayer Leverkusen, holding a UEFA Pro License.

Labbadia joins the ranks of his German predecessors who have led Nigeria, aiming to guide the Super Eagles to success in the upcoming qualifiers and beyond.

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 – ?