Controversy greets Labbadia’s appointment as Super Eagles coach: Men behind his hire

The decision to appoint the German Bruno Labbadia as the new coach of the Super Eagles was not unanimous as several NFF senior officials said the coach was forced on them.

They alleged that it was a unilateral decision taken by the NFF president, Ibrahim Gusau and the Sports Development minister, Senator John Enoh as against the claim in an NFF official statement that both the technical committee and executive board endorsed Labbadia’s appointment.

In the closing stages of the selection process for a new coach for the Super Eagles, both members of the NFF technical committee as well as NFF board had complained they were not carried along.

Monday’s NFF board meeting during which the president announced the appointment of the new coach was therefore short and did not allow for any discussions.

Meanwhile investigations have revealed that former Super Eagles World Cup skipper Austin Okocha is one of the main promoters of Labbadia.

Okocha featured for Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga, where Labbadia played as a striker and also headed several clubs including VfB Stuttgart. Labbadia, 58, was a late consideration for the Super Eagles top post, but he enjoyed favourable “political support” from Sport Minister John Enoh.

This was the main factor that gave him the edge ahead of former Sweden coach Janne Andersson and Herve Renard, several senior officials informed the media.