Sports
Full List: Coaches who led Nigeria’s Super Eagles from 1949 to 2024
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced on Tuesday, August 27, the appointment of German coach Bruno Labbadia as the 37th head coach of the Super Eagles.
Labbadia’s selection follows the resignation of Finidi George and comes as Nigeria gears up for the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Since the establishment of the national football team in 1949, Nigeria has had a total of 37 head coaches.
Below is the complete list of those who have managed the Super Eagles over the years:
1. John Finch (England) – 1949
2. Daniel Anyiam (Nigeria) – 1954-1956; 1964-1965
3. Les Courtier (England)– 1956-1960
4. Moshe Beit Halevi (Israel) – 1960-1961
5. George Vardar (Hungary) – 1961-1963
6. Joey Blackwell (England) – 1963–1964
7. József Ember (Hungary) – 1965-1968
8. Sabino Barinaga (Spain) – 1968-1969
9. Peter ‘Eto’ Amaechina (Nigeria) – 1969-1970
10. Karl-Heinz Marotzke (Germany) – 1970-1971; 1974
11. Jorge Penna (Brazil) – 1972-1973
12. Jelisavčić ‘Father Tiko’ Tihomir (Yugoslavia) – 1974-1978
13. Otto Glória (Brazil) – 1979-1982
14. Gottlieb Göller (Germany) – 1981
15. Adegboye Onigbinde (Nigeria) – 1983-1984; 2002
16. Chris Udemezue (Nigeria) – 1984-1986
17. Patrick Ekeji (Nigeria) – 1985
18. Paul Hamilton (Nigeria) – 1987; 1989
19. Manfred Höner (Germany) – 1988-1989
20. Clemens Westerhof (Netherlands) – 1989-1994
21. Amodu Shaibu (Nigeria) – 1994-1995; 1996-1997; 2001-2002; 2008-2010
22. Johannes Bonfrere (Netherlands) – 1995-1996; 1999-2001
23. Philippe Troussier (France)– 1997
24. Monday Sinclair (Nigeria) – 1997-1998
25. Bora Milutinović (Yugoslavia) – 1998
26. Thijs Libregts (Netherlands) – 1999
27. Christian Chukwu (Nigeria) – 2002-2005
28. Augustine Eguavoen (Nigeria) – 2005-2007; 2010; 2022
29. Berti Vogts (Germany) – 2007-2008
30. Lars Lagerbäck (Sweden) – 2010
31. Samson Siasia (Nigeria) – 2010-2011; 2016
32. Stephen Keshi (Nigeria) – 2011-2014; 2015
33. Sunday Oliseh (Nigeria) – 2015-2016
34. Gernot Rohr (Germany) – 2016-2021
35. José Peseiro (Portugal) – 2022-2024
36. Finidi George (Nigeria) – 2024
37. Bruno Labbadia (Germany) – 2024-present
Labbadia’s appointment marks him as the sixth German to take charge of the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts, and Gernot Rohr.
As he steps into this new role, the expectations are high for him to lead Nigeria to success in the upcoming qualifiers.