Report: Labbadia rejects Eagles job — three days after NFF’s announcement

Bruno Labbadia has reportedly rejected his appointment as the new head coach of Super Eagles of Nigeria. 

According to Kicker, a German football magazine, the 58-year-old tactician pulled out of the deal with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Friday.

NFF announced Labbadia as the Eagles’ new coach on Tuesday.

The federation said an agreement had been reached with the German, adding that he would take over the team immediately.

However, Kicker’s report cited the “public rush” to announce Labbadia’s arrival as the significant reason the manager cancelled the deal.

TheCable understands from sources in the loop of the deal that the German coach has communicated his U-turn to the NFF.

Labbadia would have been the sixth German coach to take over the Super Eagles.

He would have followed in the footsteps of his compatriots: Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts and Gernot Rohr.

Labbadia was announced as the successor to Finidi George who stepped down from the role in June — a few days after the NFF announced a plan to appoint a foreign technical adviser for the Super Eagles.

With the latest development, the Super Eagles still have no head coach ahead of the forthcoming 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification matches against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

The Eagles are scheduled to face the Benin Republic at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on September 7 before flying to Kigali to play Rwanda three days later.