Sports analyst Seun Ajidagba has voiced his disappointment with the Nigerian Football Federation’s (NFF) appointment of Bruno Labbadia as the head coach of the Super Eagles.
Appearing on Channels Television’s breakfast program, The Morning Brief, on Wednesday, Ajidagba criticized the choice, stating that the German coach is not the most suitable candidate for the senior national team.
“When the desirable is not available, the available becomes desirable. Definitely, this is not the best we can get, and I say it with all sense of responsibility, we always have a way of doing our things that leaves question mark to whatever decision that we make,” Ajidagba said.
“Exactly 73 days when Finidi George dropped that letter of resignation, we just woke up to appoint Bruno Labbadia. He came out of the blues because he was not part of those that the technical committee were talking to.
“There were names that were bandied, names like Janne Andersson of Sweden, Herve Renard, Aito Karanka, Gustavo Puyet and you begin to wonder how this name suddenly popped up.”
The sports analyst suggested that the NFF’s choice of Bruno Labbadia might be influenced by cost considerations, as Labbadia’s win ratio is deemed less impressive.
On Tuesday, the NFF announced its agreement with German coach Bruno Labbadia to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men’s National Team, the Super Eagles.
Born in Darmstadt, Germany, on February 8, 1966, Labbadia earned two caps for the German national team during his playing career, which included stints with clubs such as Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Arminia Bielefeld, and Karlsruher SC. He achieved Bundesliga success with Bayern Munich in 1994.
In recent years, Labbadia has managed well-known teams including Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart, as well as VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen. He holds a UEFA Pro License.