The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Friday, February 12

Hi, all!

We have a masked Ria Percival at the top of the Hoddle today.

Ramble of the Day

As I mentioned just yesterday, football at its silliest is a truly enjoyable experience. It can breathe life into any situation, changing the dynamic in such a way only silliness can. Take the Club World Cup third place match, won by Al-Ahly over Palmeiras in a penalty shootout.

There’s probably an argument to be made that the third place match at a Club World Cup is hardly an anticipated event for football fans around the world, but I won’t engage in that one today. I will, though, quickly argue that penalty shootouts bring a certain amount of entertainment value. Palmeiras’ Rony, though, decided to entertain us even further, though, and in the silliest way possible.

Rony, many thanks for providing a memorable moment. I’m sorry it came at a cost for you — Al-Ahly ended up winning the shootout 3-2, and I have to imagine it is not fun being known for this. I appreciate the entertainment value, though! I appreciate that you were willing to try something so wild, without the guarantee of success. It was silly, but bold in its own right. Was the pain avoidable? Perhaps. Rony may have missed his penalty anyway even if he took it normally, though. Rony went out uniquely, guaranteeing us all a little bit of fun along the way.

tl;dr: Palmeiras’ Rony took a penalty that was silly during the Club World Cup third place match, and he missed it but it was extremely entertaining!

Stay informed, listen to this: Aaron West and Tosin Makinde talk seeing themselves in Black players in football and falling in love with the sport for the Qué Golazo podcast

Links of the Day

Newcastle manager Steve Bruce received death threats on social media.

Burnley will professionalize its women’s team and fully integrate it into the club.

Neymar will miss the first leg of PSG’s Champions League tie against Barcelona with an adductor injury.

UEFA opened up proceedings against the refereeing team accused of racism during PSG-Başakşehir, but for a lesser charge regarding general conduct.

A longer read: Emma Carmichael profiles the USWNT’s Megan Rapinoe and the Seattle Storm’s Sue Bird on being a sports power couple, representing the LGBTQ+ community, and activism for GQ’s Modern Lovers issue