A number of days in the past, a brand new coach was employed for the Tremendous Eagles, the nationwide soccer group of Nigeria.
Beneath regular circumstances, it might be thought-about too quickly to begin any controversial discourse on the person. Nevertheless, the shrouded means of the appointment, the timing of it, and the calibre of the particular person engaged following one of many worst intervals in Nigeria’sf ootball historical past, have raised a number of eyebrows. To be silent could be tantamount to lazy journalism.
He’s international, a German. His identify is Bruno.
The one well-known Bruno in sports activities that I do know of are Fernandez of Manchester United FC, and the British boxer. In teaching, not any of the identified names in worldwide soccer that might have silenced critics and sceptics avers to hiring any extra international coaches in Africa in 2024 after all of the earlier failures.
So, Bruno who?
The appointment of a Bruno Labbadia, due to this fact, got here as a whole shock to everybody (besides, in fact,those who will need to have been behind the deal). There should be some form of deal on this new association. That’s the one technique to perceive the rationale for a soccer administration to dare presently to current to Nigerians a very unknown coach, straight from the blue, fully exterior the radar of even probably the most ardent soccer followers.
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Bruno’s selection instantly attracts curiosity. The present comparatively subdued debates on the difficulty are a results of the ‘shock’ of the audacity of the NFF administration to current, with out clear causes and motivation, a low-level international coach with out worldwide recognition or strong credentials after the unconvincing performances byseveral international coaches with higher credentials, together with Jose Paseiro, to Nigerians.
This isn’t even an excellent to stay to the doctrine of a international coach given the outcry over earlier dismal failures marked by a desert of trophies. The impression most Nigerians had after Paseiro’s ouster is that any new appointment would cross by microscopic lenses and scrutiny. For any international coach to be employed would as troublesome as a ‘camel passing by the attention of a needle’. I had assumed that an unknown international coach would by no means once more be unleashed on Nigerians. I now humbly concede naivety.
There are too many packing containers that any potential new coach must tick.
The particular person should be famend internationally; will need to have clear and strong data of achievements to point out in soccer; should be grounded in African soccer and footballers, both as a coach and even as a participant; will need to have the repute as a former participant or as a coach to earn the fast respect of the massive superstars within the Eagles and the important Nigerian public.
Does Bruno Labbadia tick any of the packing containers?
The Tremendous Eagles are a really troubled group.
The group has not achieved nicely for a number of years in all competitions. The final AFCON in January/February this yr was a punctuation mark with performances, since then, that make their commendable achievement appear to be a fluke. At AFCON 2023, they defied all the percentages, rode on the again of some respectable performances and obtained to the finals of the African Championship.
Since then, nevertheless, there was an enormous stoop in efficiency, disturbing to the extent that the coach of the group, even after being lavishly celebrated and rewarded (prematurely it now appears), was despatched ‘packing’ with the refusal to resume his contract.
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The Tremendous Eagles now face many challenges. Probably the most obvious is that the group lacks depth in high quality of gamers that may raise it above the current plateau the place the group has remained for nicely over a decade, unable to win any main trophies, and never convincing anybody of its once-undisputed standing as an enormous in African soccer. Smaller nations that the Tremendous Eagles used to devour for ‘breakfast’ have instantly develop into their Nemesis. Some have even defeated the Tremendous Eagles on their dwelling turf, one thing that was as soon as thought-about ‘unimaginable’!
With this new appointment of Bruno, my feeling is that the NFF has taken on an enormous gamble.
The expectation was that any new coach should begin to win from Day One, and that there can be no excuses or time a honeymoon. Nigerian coaches weren’t given any such luxurious.
As Bruno Labbadia resumes and takes cost, his earlier ‘file’ of by no means profitable any trophy in his virtually 30 years profession as a coach, quantities to nothing. It is not going to function an appropriate excuse ought to he fail to ship by defeating the Cheetahs of Benin Republic subsequent week in a 2025 AFCON-qualifying match to be performed in Uyo, Nigeria. The match has rigidity and grudge written throughout it.
Gernot Rohr, the final German coach that was sacked by Nigeria some years in the past, now leads the Cheetahs for this sequel towards the Tremendous Eagles.
He got here a couple of months in the past and inflicted the defeat on the Tremendous Eagles that fast-tracked Jose Paseiro’s exit from Nigeria. That defeat was one of many worst and most humiliating in Nigerian soccer historical past. It should not occur once more!
Sadly, even because the group listing for the match was launched in the course of the week, it confirmed that Bruno would nonetheless be working with many of the identical set of gamers that would not raise Nigerian soccer increased previously decade. Is there some ‘magic’ that he would carry out with the gamers throughout the one week that he has earlier than the match?
There may be additionally a second match inside days towards Rwanda in Kigali, one other mountain that the brand new coach must climb to clear the cloud earlier than the eyes of Nigerians a couple of sure coach from ‘nowhere’ main their prized Tremendous Eagles.
These two matches are important for Bruno’s survival because the coach of the nationwide group, and for the NFF itself as a board. Nigerians are ready and watching.
In the meantime, for educational causes solely, it is going to be attention-grabbing to know the worth of Bruno’s contract, the length of the contract, the goal(s) set for him, who pays his wages between the sports activities ministry and the federation, international assistants (will he make use of native coaches), and so forth.
The extra I take a look at all this matter of Bruno Labbadia, the extra I see it as one big gamble by the NFF.
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Dr. Segun Odegbami OLY, MON, wrote the above piece on Friday morning, August 30, to satisfy the manufacturing deadline—a number of hours earlier than information of Bruno Labbadia’s volte-face regarding the Nigeria job broke.
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