Contrary to the NFF’s tax narrative, Labbadia reveals that organisational issues, not pay, forced him to walk away from the Super Eagles job.
German coach Bruno Labbadia has provided a different explanation for his collapsed deal to become the Super Eagles’s 37th head coach.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced Labbadia as the Eagles’s new head coach ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda in September. However, the former VfB Stuttgart coach never officially took charge of the team, due to what the NFF described as disagreements over tax details.
Offering his version of the deal’s breakdown, Labbadia told Bild, “I wanted to go abroad. The basic requirement for me was: I have to go to Nigeria to see everything on site. And that was no longer possible after it was announced.
“It was no longer about the pay,” Labbadia clarified. “There were various organisational things that were problematic. And then things got tighter and tighter, so that I didn’t have two days left for the meeting with the national team. Then I pulled the ripcord because the feeling was getting worse and worse.
“They were great conversations. And what’s important to me: It was solely due to my feeling that I didn’t have the time I wanted to give 100 per cent. That’s why I declined,” he explained.
Following Labbadia’s withdrawal, the NFF appointed technical director Austine Eguavoen as interim coach for the September and October AFCON qualifiers. The former Bendel Insurance coach has since led the three-time African champions to a draw against Rwanda and victories over Benin and Libya.
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