September 13, 2024

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Sports

NFF signs German, Bruno Labbadia, as Super Eagles Head Coach

 

By Victor Okoye

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has approved the German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men National Team, Super Eagles.

 

A statement by Ademola Olajire, NFF’s Director of Communications, indicates that NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said Labbadia’s appointment was with immediate effect.

 

“The NFF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee to appoint Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles.

 

“The appointment is with immediate effect,” he said.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 58-year-old gaffer was born in Darmstadt, Germany on Feb. 8, 1966.

 

Labbadia won two caps for Die Mannschaft in his playing career that took him through clubs such as home-town team Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, and FC Kaiserslautern.

 

Others include; Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC.

 

He triumphed in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich as a player in 1994.

 

He coached famous names Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart this decade, and previously, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen, among others, and holds a UEFA Pro License.

 

He is the sixth German, after Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who had two stints between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021) to lead the Super Eagles.

 

Höner led the Eagles to runner-up position at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified and led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.

 

Labbadi’s immediate challenge is to take charge of the three-time African champions for two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Sept. 7 in Uyo) and Rwanda (Sept. 10 in Kigali).

 

Four other matches would conclude the qualifying race following in the months of October and November.

 

List of fomer Super Eagles Coaches

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-?.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

 

edited by Sadiya Hamza

Sports

My immediate task is to qualify Nigeria for 2026 World Cup, Finidi says

By Muhyideen Jimoh

Finidi George,  Head coach of the Super Eagles, says his immediate task and priority is to qualify the nation for the 2026 World Cup slated for Canada, Mexico and U.S.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Board of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on April 19, appointed George as Head Coach of the Super Eagles.

George stated this at his unveiling as the new head coach of the Super Eagles by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), at the Moshood Abiola National stadium on Monday in Abuja.

NAN reports that the former Ajax Amsterdam winger, who was assistant to former Super Eagles gaffer Jose Peseiro was jointly unveiled by the NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau and Sports Minister, Sen. John Owan Enoh.

“For me, my first target is to make sure we are in line to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the AFCON qualifiers will also be coming up soon.

“But the major target for me is the two games we have, we will do everything to win against South Africa and Benin Republic.

“Once we do that we will have set the tone and we will take it from there,” George said.

The coach warned that going forward; players will be invited to the Super Eagles based on regular playing time in their clubs and commitment to the national team.

He dismisses insinuations about having rift with some players in the Super Eagles, stressing that the relationship with the players was ‘perfect’ and professional.

“My relationship with the players is very perfect. I will try to improve on my relationship as this will be different. You will not hear any controversy on my relationship,” he said.

Earlier, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau said the coach will be given all the support he needs to succeed in the task ahead.

“We have given our coach the opportunity to choose his assistants. We won’t impose anybody on him.

“We are going to engage the assistants on game basis but will pay the head coach monthly salary. We want to avoid salary issues,” he said .

The Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan Enoh stressed the importance of having and supporting indigenous coaches to succeed.

“We have an opportunity to have a local coach to lead the Super Eagles. Back then in my University days, I would go to UJ Eseune stadium to watch Calabar Rovers and see Finidi George play.

“I am honoured to be here to witness his unveiling, if you love Nigerian football, you must love and support Finidi George. His success will bring joy to Nigerians.

“Any country I find an indigenous coach sitting on the bench, I always feel very proud and I am glad that we have an opportunity that have a Nigerian coach, Finidi George, as football men national team coach, ” he said.

NAN reports that  details of the contract was not revealed.

The  coach has picked  ex-international, Daniel Amokachi as assistant coach,  Olatunji Baruwa (goalkeeper trainer), Benjamin James, Mehmet Ozturk (match analyst) and Chima Onyeike (fitness trainer)

The immediate task of the coach is to get the Super Eagles back on track in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers where Nigeria currently sit third in Group C, with two points from two matches.

Nigeria drew with Lesotho and Zimbabwe in the first two matches in the qualifying series in November.

The Super Eagles will face South Africa and Benin Republic in June, in what has been described as a make or mar clash.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Joseph Edeh

Super Eagles
Sports

Football fans call for strengthening of Super Eagles

By Emmanuel Jonathan

Some football fans in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have called for the strengthening of the Super Eagles team ahead of future competitions.

The fans, who recalled the Eagles performance at the AFCON finals against Cote d’Ivoire, stated this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja.

NAN reports that the Super Eagles lost 1-2 to their Ivorian counterparts in spite of scoring the first goal of the match.

Ovie Anthony, who blamed the coach, Jose Peseiro for Eagles loss in the finals, said that the players never played like a team.

He blamed the loss on Peseiro’s wrong selection of players for the final match.

“Our players never played like a coordinated team. They seemed not to understand each other in that match and it resulted in their defeat by the Ivorians.

“We are not supposed to lose that match if we had a well-coordinated team that understood each other’s style of play.

“The Ivorians cashed in on our poor coordination to equalise and also score their winning goal,” he said.

He called on the technical crew of the Eagles to intensify efforts to strengthen the team, especially the midfield which is the engine room of every football team.

Benedict Benjamin, a medical doctor and a football enthusiast, said that the Eagles showed some level of capacity which made them to get to the final.

He, however, said that the management of the team should work on the lessons learnt from their loss at the AFCON finals.

Benjamin said that the inability of the Eagles to maintain their lead in the final match, called for strengthening of all departments of the team, for better results.

He said that the technical crew should immediately begin preparations for the 2026 world cup qualifiers, and the 2025 AFCON scheduled for Morocco, to avoid failure.

“There is an adage that when you fail to plan, you have planned to fail. So, now is the right time to begin by strengthening all the departments to ensure a better outing,” he said.

Kingsley Obasohan, who said that there was no need to cry over spilled milk, noted that going forward, the handlers of the team must come up with new ideas to get better results.

He said that it was the duty of the technical crew to initiate strategies and tactics, while the players do the execution in the field of play.

“I think the onus lies on the coach and his crew to come up with different winning tactics and strategies for different matches,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Joseph Edeh

Super Eagles players celebrate a goal against Equatorial Guinea at the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire
Sports

FIFA Ranking: Eagles move up 14 spots after AFCON silver win

By Bushrah Yusuf-Badmus

Africa Cup of Nations Runners-up, Super Eagles of Nigeria have moved up by 14 spots to placed 28th in the world in the February FIFA ranking.

In the ranking table published on the website of the world football governing body on Thursday, the team garnered 1,522 points as against the 1,474 points garnered in December 2023.

The upward movement further shoot up the Super Eagles as the third placed team on the continent, behind Morocco and Senegal who have 1663 (12th) and 1620 (17th) points.

However, the newly-crowned African champions Cote d’Ivoire, reaped the rewards of their continental triumph on home soil by being in the 39th place having moved up by 10 spots.

AFCON second runners- up, South Africa climbed 8 spots to 58th, with Egypt (36th), Cameroon (51st) & Ghana (67th) dropping down after their early AFCON 2023 exits.

The Angolan side who were ousted in the last eight (93rd, up 24), are the biggest climbers in the latest installment of the global ranking.

In the points stakes, two-time Asian Cup winners Qatar (37th, up 21) chalk up the biggest tally (92.04 points) after capitalising on home comforts to successfully defend their continental crown.

Elsewhere, Jordan (70th, up 17), who were edged out in the final, make good ground, as do Thailand (101st, up 12), whose journey came to an end at the last-16 stage.

Qatar’s rise sees them enter uncharted territory, with two other teams also recording best-ever rankings.

Senegal (17th, up 3), which suffered shoot-out heartbreak at the hands of the eventual winners Cote d’Ivoire in the AFCON Round of 16, break new ground.

Tajikistan (99th, up 7) mark their maiden Asian Cup campaign by making a first-ever appearance in the top 100.

Other impressive performers are Equatorial Guinea (79th, up 9), South Africa (58th, up 8), Cabo Verde (65th, up 8), Namibia (107th, up 8) and Mali (47th, up 4). (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Joseph Edeh

Sports

AFCON 2023: Super Eagles have won our hearts —Sports minister

By Muhyideen Jimoh
The Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan Enoh, says the Super Eagles have won the hearts of Nigerians with their brilliant performance at the just concluded 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire.
Enoh hailed the performance of the team at the AFCON, culminating in a silver medal and just missing out on the coveted trophy by whiskers.
“We have reached the end of AFCON 2023, and I want to express my gratitude to the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the entire team who brought us this far.
“I applaud your commitment to winning, which led us to the finals,” he said.
The minister said the resilience of the team had evoked the admiration of the entire nation.
“We present you with your well-deserved accolades for standing for Nigeria until the end.
“We are proud of you, You took the Silver, and we congratulate you and wish you all the best,” Enoh said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that hosts Cote D’Ivoire came from a goal down to defeat Nigeria 2-1 in a pulsating final on Sunday in Abidjan, to lift the AFCON trophy for the third time. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Idris Abdulrahman
Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire celebrating with the 2023 AFCON trophy
Sports

Hosts Cote d’Ivoire emerge winners of 2023 AFCON

By Victor Okoye

Hosts Côte d’Ivoire have emerged winners of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Cote d’Ivoire ended the dramatic tournament with an equally dramatic victory over Nigeriaon Sunday night in Abidjan.

The hosts came from behind to win 2-1 after trailing at half-time to a William Troost-Ekong’s powerful header which gave Nigeria the lead in the 38th minute.

The hosts however came back strongly in the second half.

In the packed stadium with over 58,000 Ivorian fans behind the Elephants, Franck Kessie levelled scores in the 62nd minute.

The Ivorians would have the last laugh as Sebastian Haller scored the winning goal in the 81st minute, with a clever toe poke after a dangerous cross into the Eagles’ vital area.

The result meant Cote d’Ivoire grabbed their third AFCON title.

This was after they won for the first time in 1992 and then in 2015.

NAN reports that the hosts had a very special campaign.

Having qualified for the knockout stages only as one of the best representatives of the third position.

They even qualified as the last best losers.

Defeats to Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea led to the sacking of coach Jean-Louis Gasset.

Emerse Fae then led Coted’Ivoire to the trophy.

NAN also reports that Nigeria’s stand-in captain William Troost-Ekong won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament award.

Troost-Ekong playing his last AFCON tourney had scored three goals in the tournament, including the beautiful header in the finals and stood as a “rock of Gibraltar” in the Nigerian defence.

Mamelodi Sundowns Goalkeeper and Captain of South Africa, Romwen Williams won the best goal keeper of the tournament.

The top goal scorer award went to Spanish-born Emilio Nsue of Equatorial Guinea, who scored five goals three of which was a hat-trick against the champions, Cote d’Ivoire.

South Africa collected its bronze medals having won the third place match against DR Congo.

Earlier, the AFCON flag was transferred to Morocco which would host the tournament in 2025. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Chidinma Agu/Joseph Edeh

Some football fans at the Capitol Bar, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, after the Super Eagles defeat of Bafana Bafana of South Africa in a semi-final encounter at ongoing AFCON in Cote d'Ivoire
Sports

Football unites FCT residents as Super Eagles secure AFCON final ticket

By Emmanuel Jonathan

Some football fans in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) spoke with one voice on Wednesday night as they cheered the Super Eagles to victory at the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Cote d’Ivoire.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Super Eagles and the Bafana Bafana of South Africa ended score 1-1 at regulation time and extra time before going into penalty shootout.

It was the Eagles that had the upper hand in the penalties after a 4-2 score.

Some football fans who watched the match at the Capitol Bar in Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, were seen speaking different languages – Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, while cheering the Nigerian team.

They spoke to NAN shortly after the match, and described the encounter as “entertaining”.

One of the fans, Kehinde Alagbada, said he was happy that the Super Eagles won the encounter against all odds.

“This is the happiest day of my life and I am proud to be a Nigerian from the Yoruba tribe,” he said.

Alagbada further said that if only football could unite Nigerians, the sky will be the limit of the country’s success and growth.

He said, “the victory of Super Eagles in the quarterfinal match is symbolic and demonstrates that if truly we can work together, the sky will be our only limit.”

He urged Nigerians to shelve tribalism, nepotism or actions that could cause disunity.

“We are stronger together and anything that will unite Nigerians should be paramount and promoted.”

Also speaking, Ralf Nwoye, another football enthusiast, said that the predictions ahead of the match made everyone tense as many people staked money on the encounter.

“One thing to take home is that for whatever reason, the God of soccer is with Nigerians in this AFCON 2023 and you can see that we won the match against all odds.

Nwoye said that the takeaway in the encounter was that as Nigerian, team work must be taken seriously.

He added, “We need to pull our strengths together no matter where we come from. There should not be discrimination among Nigerians because of their tribe.

“Every Nigerian should imbibe the attitude of team work. The fact that Osimhen and Lookman were substituted with Iheanancho and others, who came in and led the Super Eagles to victory, highlighted the importance of team work.

Hassan Jada, a football fan from the Northern part of the country also described the Super Eagles defeat of Bafana Bafana, as very sweet.

“I have confidence in the ability of the players we have in the Super Eagles, so I have no fear that we will win the AFCON 2023 trophy.

“This victory is a pointer that Nigeria will one day come out its backwardness.”

Maria Khan, a UK citizen based in Nigeria, also spoke to NAN on the outcome of the match, saying that it was a happy moment for Nigerians as the victory was exciting.

She tipped the Super Eagles to win the tournament on Sunday against host country Cote d’Ivoire. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Emmanuel Afonne

Sports

AFCON 2023: Babayaro urges Super Eagles to win trophy

 

By Kazeem Akande

Ex-Nigerian International, Celestine Babayaro, has urged the Super Eagles to imbibe team spirit and dedication to win the 2023 AFCON trophy.

Babayaro made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, while reacting to the Eagle’s 4-2 victory against South Africa to qualify for the final.

NAN reports that eagles defeated ‘Bafana Bafana’ of South Africa in a penalty shootout, after a 1-1 draw of the 120 minutes of play including extra time.

According to him, only dedication and playing well can help the eagle win the tournament.

“I really like their mode of play as they show skills and energy during the last two matches, but the team need more dedication and one spirit to win the final match.

“They need to follow the coach’s instructions, add psychology and exhibit more skillful tactics as a team to win the AFCON glory.

“The game was impressive I must confess and I hope the glory is coming to Nigeria,” he said.

NAN reports that Nigeria beat South Africa 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw

The Super Eagles will play Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the tournament. (NAN)

Edited by Joseph Edeh

Players of the Super Eagles celebrating their AFCON 2023 lone goal defeat of Bafana Bafana of South Africa
Sports

Super Eagles soar past S/Africa, secure 2023 AFCON final ticket

By Muhyideen Jimoh

The Super Eagles on Wednesday in Bouake qualified for the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), after defeating South Africa in a pulsating semi-final clash.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the match played at the Stade de la Paix, Bouake was decided on penalties after the game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes of tension soaked encounter.

The match started on a fast pace, with the South Africans dominating play but were pegged back by the resilient Nigerian defence, Marshalled by Captain William Troost-Ekong.

The cagey first half ended goalless in spite of the forays by both teams.

But in the second half Nigeria took the lead after Victor Osimhen was fouled inside the 18 yard box.

Ekong stepped up to put the Eagles one goal up.

However, late in the game substitute Alhassan Yusuf gave away a penalty which Teboho Mokoena converted.

The match was eventually decided on penalties with Nigeria winning 4-2 after a nervy shoot-out.

Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho scored the winning penalty as Nigeria booked their place in the final to spark wild celebration in the stadium.

Nigeria will now face Cote d’Ivoire in Sunday’s final after the host defeated DR Congo by a lone goal in the second semifinal encounter. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Joseph Edeh

Sports

AFCON 2023: Super Eagles to hit Bouake ahead S/Africa clash

By Muhyideen Jimoh

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will on Monday night fly to Bouake, ahead of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)  Semi-final clash with South Africa slated for Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the team and officials, will leave Abidjan for Bouake  for the first time since their opening match.

Babafemi Raji, the team’s media officer told NAN that the team will depart by 8.30pm on Monday.

“I can confirm to you that the boys are in high spirit and we are set to leave for Bouake by 8.30pm today (Monday), ahead of the semi-final clash with South Africa on Wednesday,” he said.

NAN reports that the team played all its group matches, Round of 16 and quarter -final matches in Abidjan and this is the first time they will be leaving their “adopted home”.

In continuation of preparation for the epic clash, the team on Sunday trained at their usual Ecole Nationale de la Police playing turf, Abidjan.

Raji told NAN that the Jose Peseiro, the team’s gaffer in company of a player will have the official pre-match news conference on Tuesday by 11am (Nigerian time) in Bouake.

The team will subsequently have their first training session behind closed doors later in the day.

It will be recalled that when Cote d’Ivoire hosted their only previous AFCON in 1984, Nigeria also played their semi-final match in the city of Bouake against Egypt, winning 8-7 on penalties, after a pulsating 2-2 draw.

NAN reports that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will on Wednesday lock horns with perennial rivals Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Stade de la Paix, Bouake.

The match will be a repeat of the 2000 AFCON semi-finals in Lagos, which saw Nigeria defeat South Africa 2-0.

Also in the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, Nigeria again showed superiority by eliminating the Bafana Bafana 2-1 in the quarter -final stage. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Joseph Edeh

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