Hoddle fired bullets thick and fast as Lineker added a silky touch to BT’s expert coverage

Thank goodness for Glenn Hoddle. The first-half of this Champions League final passed idly by without fire and brimstone, either on the field or in the commentary box on Saturday night.

Yet across living rooms up and down the country, punters would have debated the merits of the first-minute penalty awarded to Liverpool. Up in the gantry, perhaps the controversy came too soon, only 21 seconds into the game. Even Tottenham’s own players seemed resigned.

Hoddle, eventually, was on hand at the interval and aghast to hear Rio Ferdinand’s verdict. Ferdinand said: ‘Moussa Sissoko’s hand is up in the air and he is asking for trouble.’

Hoddle briskly replied: ‘He’s pointing to someone. It hits his chest first? Is that intentional? No way.’

Hoddle’s bullets came thick and fast, injecting urgency. ‘Harry Kane has done nothing in the game. He has to do more.’

Beforehand, Hoddle made the courageous call in response to Kane’s inclusion in the starting XI following an ankle injury.

‘I’d love to see him on the bench,’ Hoddle said. ‘He’s just not going to last into extra-time. If it is 60 minutes and you see Kane coming on, you are worried.’

Hoddle joined Gary Lineker, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand in the studio for Saturday’s final

Ferdinand threw the next punch: ‘He ain’t gonna be fit, I’d have liked to play against him after 54 days out.’

BT do not try and replicate Sky Sports’ more forensic coverage. Their take is instead more personal. Some find it engaging, others grating. In the commentary box, the dressing room nicknames doubtless irk viewers of a certain generation. “Fletch” (Darren Fletcher) is joined by “Macca” (Steve McManaman) in the red corner and “JJ” (Jermaine Jenas) in the white of Tottenham. The pundits also seem to be on first-name terms with “Trent” and “Dele” on the field.

If incision was missing on the field, then we were indebted to those in the studio. Gary Lineker, on secondment from his everyday role as the social media spokesperson of the People’s Vote campaign, silkily held the show together during two hours of preview footage. 

For the PlayStation generation came a rap from the artist Wretch 32 who, Rio Ferdinand assured us, is one of the very best in the business. Most would have taken that as their cue to flip the burgers on the barbecue.

Skilful interviewer Des Kelly yielded moving responses from Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino by assuming the Eamonn Andrews approach and taking the pair on a trip down memory lane. Presented with an image of his childhood days in Argentina, carrying a ball in his grasp, Pochettino smiled and said: ‘If someone asks me “Who is Mauricio Pochettino? Well, it is this guy.’

Klopp solemnly reflected on his late father Nortbert, who he lost in 2000 to cancer. ‘He was the best player in my home village,’ the German reflected.

BT’s warmer coverage takes you into the psyche of the elite footballer. As the team buses pulled in, nostalgia brimmed from the studio. Lineker described it as ‘the worst moment’.

Even Michael Owen was briefly inspired: ‘The bigger the game, the quieter it is. Nobody needs to say a word. You can hear a pin drop.’

Ferdinand added: ‘You can get friends and family texting you saying “My tickets aren’t there for me”. It’s all energy-sapping.’

BT’s most stirring scenes this season came when Ferdinand careered into Glenn Hoddle in Amsterdam and Gary Lineker losing all sense of order following Lionel Messi’s wonderful free-kick against Liverpool. 

Once again, the trio stole the show for the final.