Julius Okorie
Engagement of German Bruno Labbadia, with no national team coaching experience, has been described as huge gamble that may end up in disappointment, unless a miracle happens.
Analysts and soccer fans alike took a swipe at the Glass House, for wasting ample time over the appointment of a new coach, following the resignation of Finidi George, only to settle for a Labbadia who may struggle to fit in with neither national team experience nor knowledge of African football.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelGermany based Nigerian sports analysts and journalist, Oma Akatugba, in a chat with Arise Tv Wednesday, noted that what Nigeria needs is a coach who understands the terrain, understands African football and is able to proffer solution.
The national team he said is in a precarious situation, with a number of players not certain to be in camp because of their transfer challenges, and as such requires a coach that can manage the situation, combining knowledge of coaching a national team and African football, adding that settling for Labbadia was a poor decision.
On how to help journey man Labbadia since the decision has already been made, Akatugba who revealed he has already sent a message to the new coach to be prepared for rocky ride, urged the NFF to ensure that a conducive atmosphere is guaranteed, that everything be done to ensure players arrive on time, that camping is done in a serene atmosphere so that the players can concentrate, noting that German tacticians from his knowledge of them like to work in an organised environment.
He, however, cautioned against throwing Bruno into the ring immediately, saying “Austin Eguavoen should handle the next two matches so as to give Bruno Labbadia time to settle down.”
There are also fears that the new coach may take a walk, should the Glass House begin to owe him like they do with other coaches. His record show an average stay of a season and half with a good number of the clubs he coached
Akatugba is however not the only person worried about the choice of Labbadia at this time, as many soccer fans equally took to the social media to express their doubt about his ability to navigate the team through the storm.
Balatic @Balatic said “Every time una appoint a new foreign coach we must first go to google to know him. E good? 😏 We no reach to appoint the likes of Mourinho, Pochettino etc? 😂😅
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BIG JOE OF LAGOS👍 🇳🇬🇫🇷@JosephOnuorah has this to say, “Thoroughly disappointed with this recruitment. Why not sign an Amunike that has tasted glory in the age grade teams or Samson Siasia What is really NFFs interest in signing no-result and no-impact foreign coaches since last 2 decades.”
ncle Wilson@iam_wilsons added a political dimension saying “Like INEC like NFF. Allow Nigerians to at least rise from bed” and apparently pissed off speaking about it, sanwo k. abiola @Kemisanwo chose to be prophet of doom saying” You should have just used the money to invest in agriculture because we actually won’t qualify for the World Cup. It’s late.”
Bruno Labbadia can however count on some who believe he should be given a chance national experience notwithstanding.
The VIRUS-28 ☣ 🇳🇬🇬🇭🇬🇧🇺🇸🇱🇻@davies_z is ready to vote for Bruno and queried whether all that have coached the Eagles in the past have national team experience.
“When Westerhof was appointed Coach of Super Eagles, did he have any experience with any National Team? No. When Bonfrere Joe became our coach and won Gold in 1996 Olympics, did he have any previous national team experience? Or was he even a serious club coach? No. Leave the guy pls.”
Prior to Labbadia’s appointment, perennial white shirt wearing Hervé Renard had been tipped to be the man for the job.
Renard, who last coached the France women team to the recently ended Olympics in France, was a two time Zambia national team coach, and also handled Angola, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
