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Super Eagles: Football Stakeholders Express Mixed Feelings over Appointment of Labbadia

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A cross section of football stakeholders have expressed mixed feelings over the appointment of German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

They spoke with newsmen on the appointment on Tuesday in Lagos.

The NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, had in the early hours of Tuesday announced the appointment of Labbadia in a statement.

Ex-Super Eagles player, Baldwin Bazuaye, who was indifferent about the appointment of Labbadia,  said that Nigerians desperately needed results from the senior national team more than the debate on his personality.

“For me anything that will make or mean well for Nigerian football is good.

“It now depends on the NFF on what they want. The only advice I have for them is that Nigerians need results now.

“We are not lacking in resources, so we will be waiting for the results. This is NFF’s decision, even if we advise, they can decide to take it or not.

“Sometimes, our advice does not count, so I believe they must have done their due diligence with the Technical team before the appointment was announced,” he said.

Vincent Okumagba, President of Super Eagles Supporters Club of Nigeria, said that Labbadia was not a popular name on the list of the coaches.

“Labbadia is not known to me, but it is a good thing that the NFF has appointed a new coach.

“I won’t be able to speak much about his abilities or competence, but for the fact that they have appointed him, due diligence must have been done with the Technical Committee.

“I believe all stakeholders are involved in this appointment, but the fact is that he is not known to most of us as supporters.

“What we know how to do best as a supporters club is to give our full support to the team, because we must qualify for the next AFCON having done well in the last edition,” he said.

Okumagba, however said that the Super Eagles Supporters Club have started mobilising members for the crucial AFCON qualifiers on Sept. 7.

“We have started preparations ahead; we held our first rehearsal at the National Stadium last week.

“We have also mobilised our members from the different states to be in Uyo so that we can qualify and after that maybe we can win the next AFCON,” he said.

and Sport Editor, Ayomide Oguntinehin, Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng, the choice of Labbadia was a hasty decision by NFF.

“I see the appointment of Labbadia as one of NFF’s scapegoat strategies. For a coach to be appointed less than two weeks to his first official assignment as a national team coach.

“Labbadia has less than seven days to prepare for the crucial AFCON qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda, a competition that we just finished as silver medalists.

“Even the German press tagged his appointment that he got a surprise coaching role in Nigeria because he has been overlooked.

“Well, it is dicey to start to judge him now, so we will give him a chance maybe for the upcoming two games, then, he will start to feel the pressure,” he said.

Oguntinehin  said  that the task ahead of the newly appointed former Stuttgart FC coach was enormous given the present state of the senior national team.

“Republic of Benin’s game won’t be easy after they defeated Nigeria in Cote de’ Voire and with Nigeria’s former coach Genort Rohr.

“Well, in terms of experience maybe he is up there at the club level but never at the national level.

“The question is, can he handle the Super Eagles of Nigeria, or the pressure from the Nigerian press?

“From the list of the NFF, Labbadia was the least qualified, maybe others such as Anderson and Hevre Rennard have their excuses for not taking up the role,” he said.

A football fan, Damilare Okeowo described the appointment of Labbadia as another journey to a bad end.

“It’s a journey that will not end well for both parties because what the Eagles need now is a coach that understands African football, and not the one coming to learn the ropes.

“Has Labbadia coached in any African country before? No, has he handled any national team beforehand? No, so why appoint him?

“We won’t give up on talking about NFF inadequacies because we want the best for the country,” he retorted.

Report says that 58-year-old Labbadia was born in Darmstadt, Germany and won two caps for the German national team, `Die Mannschaft’.

He had a playing career that took him through clubs such as home-town team Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC.

Labbadia later triumphed in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich as a player in 1994. (NAN)

SPORTS

Arsenal Crush Manchester City to Stay in Title Hunt

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Arsenal delivered a statement of intent in the Premier League title race with a 5-1 hammering of champions Manchester City to close the gap at the top to six points on Sunday.

Captain Martin Odegaard fired Arsenal into a second-minute lead and City were finished off in ruthless fashion after the break with teenagers Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri both on target for the rampant Gunners.

Erling Haaland’s 55th-minute equaliser, his 250th senior career goal, had briefly raised City’s hopes, but they could have no complaints as any lingering chance of winning a fifth successive title surely disappeared into the north London night.

Arsenal are now 14 games unbeaten in the league and have 50 points from 24 games with leaders Liverpool on 56 from 23.

Manchester City are a distant fourth with 41.

Arsenal have been accused of being over-reliant on set-piece goals this season but on Sunday they played with fluency and flare to rack up their biggest home win of the league season.

“It was a top game, a top performance and with the fans and the atmosphere it can’t be better, so very happy.

“In the end, I think we got what we deserved, “Odegaard said

City, whose six-game unbeaten run in the league had suggested they were returning to form, were generally second-best apart from a lively spell before halftime when Arsenal keeper David Raya was forced into a couple of crucial saves.

“It is difficult. I think all of us don’t take losing well,” City defender John Stones said. “It is hard to put into words straight after a game like that.

“How we played in the last 30 minutes was not acceptable.”

Sloppy City gifted Arsenal the lead when Manuel Akanji was put in trouble by teammate John Stones and was dispossessed before Kai Havertz calmly set up Odegaard to sweep home from close range despite an attempted block by Stones.

With City at sixes and sevens, Arsenal thought they had made it 2-0 shortly afterwards when Gabriel Martinelli lifted a shot past Stefan Ortega but was adjudged to be offside.

City were spared further punishment when they again lost the ball playing out from the back and Havertz, with the whole goal to aim at, somehow dragged his shot wide.

Haaland touched the ball only six times in the first half but came alive in the 55th minute to head in Savinho’s cross.

For a moment it looked as though Arsenal’s earlier misses might haunt them but 38 seconds after the restart Phil Foden gave the ball away and Thomas Partey’s shot deflected off Stones to leave Ortega with no chance.

With their tails up, Arsenal looked to rub City’s noses in the dirt and Lewis-Skelly took a pass from Declan Rice before sending a right-footed shot past the diving Ortega.

Havertz made up for his earlier miss with a clinical finish from Gabriel Martinelli’s pass after a counter-attack.

The party was already in full swing when substitute Nwaneri left Ortega for dead with a sublime curling finish after a long passing move.

Arsenal will now try to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit in Wednesday’s League Cup semi-final at Newcastle United.

While City will have to dust themselves down as a seismic Champions League playoff against Real Madrid looms. (Reuters/NAN)

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SPORTS

2025 AFCON Draw: Nigeria to Battle Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania

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Nigeria will battle Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania in the group phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

Report says that this was confirmed at the end of a colourful ceremony at the Mohamed V Theatre in Rabat on Monday.

With the draw concluded, the Super Eagles now have just 11 months to prepare for the 35th AFCON finals, with the tournament scheduled to hold between Dec.

21 to Jan.
18, 2026.

The three-time champions must navigate Group C that also houses Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles, the Cranes of Uganda and the Taifa Stars of Tanzania.

The Eagles are expected to open their campaign with a game against the Taifa Stars.

As hosts of the AFCON for the first time ever, in 1980, the Eagles battled the Taifa Stars in the tournament opening match.

The Tanzanian team was complete with their highly-rated team captain Leodegar Tenga and the enigmatic goalkeeper Jona Pondamali.

Nigeria won 3-1 and went ahead to win their first continental title.

Then, 20 years later, as co-hosts (with Ghana), Nigeria played Tunisia in their first match of the tournament, beating the Carthage Eagles 4-2 in Lagos.

The Eagles went all the way to the final, losing to Cameroon only after a penalty shootout.

The Carthage Eagles pipped the Super Eagles by a lone goal in the Round of 16 at the finals in Cameroon, three years ago, to end the sweet run of the three-time champions.

Uganda have always proved a tough nut to crack for Nigeria, including a 2-1 win over the Eagles at the 1978 finals in Ghana that condemned Nigeria to the third-place match.

Nigeria won that third-place match after Tunisia abandoned the match in the 42nd minute.

Hosts and 1976 winners Morocco are drawn in Group A alongside 2012 champions Zambia, 1972 runners-up Mali and Comoros that will be playing in only their second championship.

Cup holders Cote d’Ivoire are in Group F and must negotiate a tricky pool that also has five-time champions Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique

Seven-time winners Egypt are at war with 1996 hosts and champions South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe in Group B, which somewhat looks like the “group of death”.

Senegal who are the 2021 winners are at loggerheads with two-time winners Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin Republic and Botswana in Group D, while 1990 and 2019 winners Algeria will confront Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan in Group E.

Full Draw

GROUP A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros

GROUP B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe

GROUP C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania

GROUP D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin Republic, Botswana

GROUP E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan

GROUP F: Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique. (NAN)

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SPORTS

Results of Match Day 20 Fixtures in 2024/2025 NPFL Encounters

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The following are the results of Match Day 20 fixtures in the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) played on Sunday:

Akwa United FC 1-2 Remo Stars FC

Heartland FC 1-0 Lobi Stars FC

Plateau United FC 2-1 River United FC

Kwara United FC Vs Shooting Stars FC (postponed)

Kano pillars FC Vs El kanemi Warriors FC (Postponed)

Bendel Insurance FC Vs Enyimba International FC (postponed) (NAN)

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