BY SAB OSUJI

Adebayo Gbadebo, a former Nigeria international and now a coach in Thailand has posited that new Super Eagles technical helmsman, Bruno Labbadia, has what it takes to revive Nigeria's shakky 2026 FIFA World Cup dreams but insisted the German would need total support in order to see the country's 7th FIFA World Cup finals qualification dream come true, Exclusivenews.com.ng reports.

The former Stationery Stores of Lagos midfielder spoke to Exclusivenews.com.ng Thursday night from his base in Bangkok, Thailand following Labbadia's appointment as successor to Finidi George and 37th Super Eagles coach in history.

Gbadebo reckons that despite the apparent late time in his arrival, Labbadia is a top coach with proven track record and as such knows that World Cup ticket is top priority to Nigerians.

"No coach ever takes up Super Eagles coaching job without knowing that World Cup ticket is top priority", says Gbadebo to Exclusivenews.com.ng.

"Labbadia cannot be an exception. He's a top notch coach. He know the job and knows what to do. All that's important and what he needs most now is support.

"Given the level that he's been, he is already aware of what it means to be in the position that he is at the moment. As a professional manager, he knows what to do in order to get the right result. I only hope and pray that he's given the necessary back up. You know he doesn't have time. No coach has time; no coach ever has luxury of time.

"So, he needs to do a lot of work, he has to motivate the players on how to get the job done and he needs to get the right players that can get the job done.

"I believe in the German mentality of the coach that he is. I believe he can do it here. I think he is one of the too coaches as his profile clearly indicates. He has a lot of my respect and support.

"As for the World Cup, one thing I always say is that Nigeria has the players that can turn things around. The only thing is for him to pick the right player and the players that are ready at that moment.

"So, I believe he knows what he needs and and he knows how to get there and must be able to make it happen, get the right players with the right motive and the right mentality. 

"For me, the two matches he's going to play next week, against Benin Republic and Rwanda, in the AFCON qualifiers, if he's going to be in charge, will be kind of 'testing the microphone' for him. Now that he's in Europe, he's going to monitor a lot of the (Nigerian) players. So, for me, reviving Nigeria's World Cup qualification is possible. He's going to put a lot of things in place if given the chance. We must get all the three points in all the remaining World Cup qualifiers, home and away".

Gbadebo would go on to throw his weight behind NFF's secrecy in the appointment of the German gaffer.

"The appointment has to be shrouded in secrecy because I believe there were people assigned the responsibility of getting a coach for the Super Eagles. We don't need to put them under pressure, whether in secret or in the open, definitely, whoever they chose will definitely come out in the open. The important thing is, what are the motives or expectation that we need from the coach? Or, why are we bringing in the coach? So, the NFF have the responsibility, especially the Technical (and Development) Committee to chose a coach for us. So people should not be worried about secrecy or whatever. Whichever way they want to do it, the important thing is for them to bring the right person".