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.
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 – ?
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