Lagerback saw off competition from his compatriot Sven-Goran Eriksson for the role, while another former England manager, Glenn Hoddle, was also in pole position until Lagerback was interviewed by the Nigerian Football Federation yesterday.

A NFF spokesman Ademola Olajire said: “In the early hours of this morning we appointed Lars Lagerback.”

Olajire admitted Lagerback had pipped Hoddle and the former Senegal coach Bruno Metsu to the job. He said: “Previously, Bruno Metsu was ahead, Glenn Hoddle took over on Wednesday but in the end it was Lagerback, who [was interviewed] last, who won it. He has now signed a five-month contract to take Nigeria to the World Cup.”

Lagerback succeeds Shaibu Amodu as coach of the Super Eagles after they finished third at the African Nations Cup in Angola last month.

The Swede will watch Nigeria’s friendly against DR Congo on Wednesday and will be based in Nigeria from next month until the World Cup finals in South Africa.

Lagerback was co-coach of Sweden at Euro 2000 alongside Tommy Soderberg and led the team outright from the summer of 2004 until 2009, when he resigned following the failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Read his profile below:

Lars Edvin “Lasse” Lagerbäck (born 16 July 1948 in Katrineholm, Sweden) is a Swedish football manager and former player.

Career

As youth, Lagerbäck played for Alby FF. When he was 13 years-old, he began playing for their P16 team. In 1970, he left and moved to Gimonäs CK under the guidance of Calle Lindelöf.[2] He continued to play there until 1974. [3] In 1974, he attended Gynastik and Idrottshögskolan (GIH), where he was a classmate of current assistant coach Roland Andersson.

Managing Career

Club

In 1977, he was called up to the senior team. It was former teammate Kjell Pettersson that recommended him to Kilafors. He coached the Division IV team until 1982. In 1983, he moved to Arbrå IK until 1985. In 1987, he takes over Hudiksvall ABK but leaves by 1989.[4]

In 1990, Lagerbäck takes a job with the Swedish Football Association. He began to coach the junior levels which included Fredrik Ljungberg. He helped Tommy Svensson and Tord Grip with Swedish National Team.[5]

In 1996, Lagerbäck takes over Sweden B national team, until 1997. In 1998, Tommy Söderberg takes him on as assistant coach for the Swedish National Team. In 2000, he is promoted to dual-coach, a responsibility he would share with Söderberg until 2004.[6] Under his guidance, the Swedish National Team qualified for the Euro 2000 but lost in the group stages.

In 2002, he led Sweden to the World Cup where Sweden was in ‘group death’. Sweden lost against Senegal. In 2004, Sweden qualified for their third straight championship. In the Euro 2004, Sweden made it to the quarter-finals where they lost against Holland.[7] That same year, Tommy Söderberg left the Swedish National Team to coach the U21 Team.

After the departure of Söderberg, Lagerbäck appointed Roland Andersson as assistant coach. In 2006, Lagerback took Sweden to their fourth consecutive championship, the first time in Swedish history. He led Sweden to the 2006 World Cup, losing against Germany 2 2–0 in the knockout stage.[8] Under Lagerbäck, Sweden also qualified for UEFA Euro 2008, however they were eliminated in the group stage after losing 2-0 against Russia. The team’s early dismissal from the tournament led sport columnists to ask Lagerbäck to be sacked..[9] Despite this, he signed an extension, which would keep him until the end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign. After Sweden’s unsuccessful qualification campaign for this summer’s World Cup in South Africa, Lagerbäck resigned.[10].

It was really hard to imagine Africa hosting it’s first ever world cup and Nigeria not being there, not being at a second successive world cup.
But it is like a new wind is blowing behind our back, and this is quite refreshing. Today we play for a chance to win the Under 17 world cup for a record 4th time, and it seems like the luck and fortune brought in by the scintillating performances of the Golden Eaglets have also shown on the senior national team.

Okay, so we have qualified, therein lies our problem. We are never proactive. All of us, even the shit heads in the so-called glass house, the NFF know that their man, i.e Amodu is not a capable hand. He does not have the technical nor the tactical ability to blend the gifted individuals that make up the Super Eagles. He should be relieved of the post and a more capable hand given the job.

A lot of people are calling for a foreign technical adviser, but i will fault this because with barely seven months to kick off, we need somebody who is not only versed in the workings of Nigerian football, but one who is also technically sound.

Siasia has proven that he is not only sound, but also very stubborn, a vital ingredient needed to succeed as a coach of any of the national teams. I think the NFF should not delay in naming him the next coach head coach of the national team.

But hey, we have qualified for the world cup and that from a very unlikely situation. I don’t know about you, but am now making my preparations for my trip to South Africa.

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