Bruno Labbadia was officially announced by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as the new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, but a breakdown in talks led to the termination of the agreement.
Labbadia was picked by the NFF as the replacement for Finidi George, and was expected to lead the team in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, but a week to the start of the series the coach made a u-turn on the agreement owing to what the football house said is a fall out on who will handle the payment of his taxes.
The coach has now explained why he initially accepted the job citing his desire to manage at the AFCON, and also the world class attacking options in the Nigerian team led by the duo of Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface.
“I was tempted to play in the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup. Above all, to play in a World Cup with a team that would not have to hide from the big teams”, he told German publication Bild. “Nigeria has an offense that is second to none. I have to say that honestly,”
Following the u-turn in the plans to make him coach of the Nigerian team Austine Eguavoen who is the technical director of the NFF is currently holding the role in interim capacity, with the team leading their group in the AFCON qualifiers.
