Labbadia good enough for Eagles — Wolfsburg

Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg believe Bruno Labbadia is good enough to be head coach of the Super Eagles, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The German Bundesliga side made the assertion in a statement in the wake of the appointment of the German tactician as announced by the Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday.

“Good luck, Bruno! You get a good coach, Eagles,” the club wrote on X,’ stated the club that once had Victor Osimhen in their books.

Labbadia, 58, thus succeeds Finidi George, who quit the saddle in June and is faced with the task of securing desirable results in next month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Several names were linked with the job in June, including the former head coach of the France women’s national team, Herve Renard, and Swede Janne Andersson, who were the two leading applicants.

Surprisingly, the NFF announced Labbadia, much to the disappointment of many Nigerian football enthusiasts who queried the decision of the football body.

Labbadia was hired by Wolfsburg in 2018, replacing Martin Schmidt, who had stepped down the day before the new Eagles coach was appointed.

He started his reign with a 1-1 draw against FSV Mainz 05 and led Wolfsburg to a 16th-place finish in the 2017/18 season, which qualified the club for the relegation playoff against Holstein Kiel.

He left Wolfsburg after the 2018/19 season, in which the team finished in sixth place, qualifying for the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League.

Labbadia, the sixth German coach to manage the Eagles, now faces the daunting task of preparing the team for their two AFCON qualifiers next month.

Nigeria will host the Republic of Benin on September 7, followed by a trip to Rwanda three days later.