The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Wednesday, March 28

Hi, everyone!

Let me tell you about something that I care about a lot.

Ramble of the Day

We, as members of the global football community, like to spend a lot of time talking about kits. We do not, however, talk very much about how kits match up on a field. I am talking about the combination of two kits on a field, and how they look up against each other. This type of conversation is very much about personal preferences.

Let me dive right in with an example. I am watching England take on Italy as I write this (I am writing this much earlier than I usually do), with England sporting crisp white tops and dark blue, almost black shorts. Italy, meanwhile, are wearing a blue that is a shade or two darker than a traditional blue from head to toe. We frequently discuss how these uniforms individually look, and for the record, though they are plain, I quite like both looks. I tend to be a fan of a sleek monochromatic look with a color that is dynamic enough from a distance, which explains why I like the Italy kit. As for England’s, I like the classic contrast of the shirt and shorts. What I am trying to talk about, though, is how these kits look next to each other, sharing the same pitch.

Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

These two kits look fine next to each other. There is no atrocious clash that would make it difficult for them to share the same space. They coexist well, even if there is no perfect contrast.

I find that to be the case when most kits match up against each other. The combination is inoffensive, even if they do not exist in perfect harmony. This becomes a more interesting observation in matches where both teams are wearing fairly distinct colors, which tends to happen frequently in Major League Soccer. Here are two examples of these very colorful matchups.

Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

This is a matchup between the Columbus Crew, in yellow, and Toronto FC, in red. I recently referred to this as a duel between mustard and ketchup for the eyes, which makes me sound like a child. Of course, the traditional yellow and red of mustard and ketchup is not represented here, with both teams electing to pick richer and nicer shades of the colors. I think they contrast well, but it is not my favorite contrast, partly because I do not like ketchup.

This is not the greatest picture, but I love the contrast of the Columbus kit with New York City FC’s light blue. I am very fond of a bold color in a football kit (and I also love yellow). I also have have an appreciation for the light blue and the way it looks against the bright yellow. These colors are very sharply picked, and the contrast is striking, bold, but not discordant.

tl;dr: I like colorful things, kind of like children do.

Links of the Day

Bayern’s CEO said Robert Lewandowski is “100%” sticking around.

A goalkeeper in the Ethiopian Premier League threw the ball into his own net.

Cartoonist David Squires sounds off on England’s preparations for the World Cup.

Today’s longer read: Brenda Elsey on the women footballers who saved South American football ahead of the Copa América Femenina for The Guardian