The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, May 19

Hey, everyone!

Today we have former Tottenham midfielder John Bostock at the top, and here’s an update from Inter Milan.

Ramble of the Day

The Bundesliga made its return over the weekend, bringing us more live football after months without it and something else — club branded face masks. Credit to those clubs (and other employers) providing their employees with the necessary protective gear while they have to work.

These masks have essentially become a new part of a uniform and as a result, face masks have entered the realm of fashion, even if making them for your employees isn’t an act of fashion. Even if the design is as simple as can be, each company having a pre-determined look means their mask will, too. It was on display in Germany over the weekend, with a wide variety of looks.

Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images

The first one I spotted was Borussia Dortmund’s bright yellow face mask, and as someone who really has a fondness for almost all shades of yellow, it stood out for me.

Photo by Martin Meissner/PA Images via Getty Images

Schalke let its crest be the design, almost using it as polka dots on a plain white backdrop.

Photo by JAN WOITAS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

SC Freiburg went for the same idea, with their face mask in their primary red.

Photo by Roland Weihrauch/picture alliance via Getty Images

FC Köln also went with the red, though included the phrase zesamme stark blieve, which translates to stay strong together. The club is donating to its foundation and partners for each mask sold. (Bayern Munich is also donating proceeds from their face masks to WeKickCorona, an initiative started by Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, though I couldn’t find a picture of theirs from the weekend.)

Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images

Union Berlin opted for a plain white face mask with the phrase warten auf Union, waiting for Union, a club slogan. Others were sporting one with a red background and white text.

Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Bayer Leverkusen broke up their red with black stripes, for at least one person at least.

Photo by STUART FRANKLIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Finally, Werder Bremen went for a shade of green that’s a few lighter than their home kit but also looks pretty close in color to a pair of scrubs. The club is donating money from sales of the mask to Bremen Soup Angels. (This is your warning that the mask they’re selling looks like the darker green associated with Bremen on its website.)

These are just the ones I could find, though there were other clubs that opted for brand-less masks, or in Eintracht Frankfurt’s case a plain white one with the crest in the corner. It’s one way to recap a very unusual weekend in the Bundesliga, and the first of what they hope will have a few more iterations. The pictures and masks are just a couple of snapshots of our pretty weird reality — and in some clubs’ cases, a way to aid others.

tl;dr: The many masks of the Bundesliga, and a few charities that might benefit from them.

Links of the Day

Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi was arrested on suspicion of rape on Sunday. He is out on bail.

The Scottish Premiership was decided on points per game, with Celtic named champions. Relegated Hearts are considering legal action.

Former youth coach Barry Bennell was charged with nine sexual offenses.

Ascenso MX clubs will take the Mexican federation to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over its decision to suspend promotion-relegation to and from Liga MX.

Hatice Cengiz, Jamal Khasoggi’s fiancée, penned a piece for The Guardian arguing Saudi Arabia’s attempt to buy Newcastle is an act of sportswashing.

Today’s longer read: Suzanne Wrack interviews Everton’s Inessa Kaagman on her journey with the club and why she’s calling supporters in Liverpool during lockdown for The Guardian