The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Wednesday, January 13

Hi, everyone!

At the top today is goalkeeper Aurora Mikaelsen, who joined Tottenham this season.

Ramble of the Day

Last week, my sister accidentally stumbled upon a headline from Popsugar, a website with celebrity and lifestyle content — as far as I know, it’s inoffensive content but not a place I frequent. I am, though, familiar enough with the concept of straightforward celebrity content for the sake of clicks, so I was not surprised by the formula of the headline; what I was surprised by who ended up i the formula.

The post was just a slideshow of pictures of the Messi children from their parents’ Instagrams, which many in this business have put together for the many famous people that get this type of attention. I just didn’t know Lionel Messi had hit that level of celebrity for Popsugar, a middle of the road American celebrity website in terms of content. It’s why I had to ask if the sport has finally made it in the States, partly as a joke but also in earnest.

It’s not that Messi isn’t well known in the States, but there is a difference between being covered by a sports website and being covered by a celebrity website. There isn’t a thing wrong with it, but I must admit I’m slightly fascinated by this update. It’s only been a week, so I’m not surprised they haven’t written another Messi-centric piece. I always tend to think of celebrity treatment by fairly well known establishments as a certain marker of being well known yourself, which is why my question is partly genuine.

If you’ve spent a minute in American soccer/football circles, though, hopefully you got a chuckle out of the joke in my tweet. Regardless, I’m proud of myself for putting this together while my eyes craved sleep.

tl;dr: If Popsugar is posting pictures of Lionel Messi’s kids for content, has the sport finally made it in America?

Stay informed, read this: Veronique Hyland interviews actress Jodie Turner-Smith on being a Black woman in Hollywood, making her directorial debut with a short film, and welcoming a baby during the pandemic for Elle

Links of the Day

The FA Youth Cup was suspended as COVID-19 cases rise in the UK.

Sacramento will join the NWSL in 2022.

FIFA approved Andrés Perea’s one time switch to play for the US after playing for Colombia in his youth.

David Squires recaps an FA Cup weekend behind closed doors in his latest cartoon.

Lyon signed Catarina Macario, ending her collegiate career at Stanford.

A longer read: Jeff Carlisle on the state of MLS now that players and the league have once again entered negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement for ESPN