Hand Of Pod

The hundred and seventy-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés discuss referee Germán Delfino's decision to rescind a penalty and red card seemingly on television evidence during Vélez Sarsfield's 2-1 win over Arsenal de Sarandí on Saturday - what happened, and how have the Argentine media tried in places to twist the story? Other topics on this episode are River Plate's weekend clásico win, 1-0 over San Lorenzo, and Boca Juniors' 2-0 victory away to Huracán which took Boca top of the nascent league table. We also find time for a six-goal thriller between Defensa y Justicia and Rosario Central, the end of Unión de Santa Fe's unbeaten record, and much more besides. This week's history section is devoted to Omar Sívori, the great former River and Juventus striker who made his debut 61 years ago last Saturday.

The hundred and seventy-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod is a whopper, but with off-pitch trouble, plenty of goals in a week when the league leadership changed hands, Daniel Osvaldo's on-pitch trolling, two national team friendlies and a new regular Argentine football history section to include, how could it be any other way? We discuss San Lorenzo's thrashing of Lanús and River Plate's last-gasp win over Gimnasia, as well as Boca's canter against Estudiantes, before changing our focus to Argentina's recent friendly victories over the Isle of Man - sorry, I mean, El Salvador - and Ecuador, in the first of which Federico Mancuello did a Harry Kane by coming on as a second half substitute and scoring shortly after. The subject of our first history section is a man who would have turned 100 years old on Monday - Arsenio Erico, the Paraguayan who is the all-time top goalscorer in the history of Argentina's Primera División.

The hundred and seventy-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés discussing a weekend of Primera action that was notable for late goals deciding the outcomes of matches, and for Rosario Central's perfect start to the campaign coming to an end with a draw away to the bottom club, Atlético de Rafaela (Central remain top, though). Argentinos Juniors' unbeaten record came spectacularly undone, Aldosivi and Unión produced a 3-3 draw and Boca Juniors goalkeeper Agustín Orión is in hot water after breaking San Martín forward Carlos Bueno's shin (though we say it was accidental). Perhaps most surprisingly of all, both Independiente and River Plate managed to keep clean sheets! All this and more awaits, though we've almost no discussion of Argentina's upcoming internationals, since they're only friendlies.

In the hundred and seventy-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Santi look back over a goal-packed weekend of Primera action in which only four sides out of the thirty managed to keep clean sheets (and two of those were in the same game). River Plate's problems continued but they battled back to a 3-3 draw with Arsenal, whilst Rosario Central remain top of the league with a 100% record courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Temperley. And for Lanús, Santiago Silva's exit seems to have lifted some of the weight from their remaining attackers' shoulders, because they got a thumping 5-1 win away to Godoy Cruz. All of this is covered, as well as the Argentine sides in the Copa Libertadores and a look at the three local league players who've been called up to the national team for next month's 'tour' of the USA.

In the hundred and seventy-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Peter discuss another weekend of action which included an amazing 53-yard lob from San Lorenzo's Pablo Barrientos, River Plate throwing away a 2-0 lead to draw with Unión, and Boca Juniors being held away to Colón. Rosario Central, meanwhile, have won four out of four under rookie manager Eduardo Coudet, whilst their cross-city rivals Newell's Old Boys still don't look the finished article, though they defend with the ball well. Also, a third of the league are bloody awful - to no-one's surprise - with Crucero del Norte the unwilling poster boys for the shortcomings of most of the ten newly-promoted sides.

The hundred and seventy-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Peter and Andrés begin with a discussion of yet more violence affecting Argentine football, after a weekend marred by a running street battle involving the barra brava of fourth division club Laferrere which left 2 policemen seriously injured. We then move on to review last weekend's action in the Primera División and the last few Argentine games in the Copa Libertadores. San Lorenzo lost at home to San Martín - and just after we recorded this episode, also lost at home to Corinthians - but things look less gloomy for the rest of the Big Five, whilst Estudiantes and Rosario Central are also doing well. Hand Of Pod is sponsored by Argentina Independent, a wonderful source of English-language news from Argentina and across Latin America.

The hundred and seventy-third episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by Peter, Andrés and Jon Gilbert to discuss the second weekend of Argentina's monster new Primera. River Plate were held in a lively 2-2 draw with Quilmes, Boca Juniors made it two league wins out of two and champions Racing have just one point from their first two matches, but there's a long way to go yet. We also discuss the Libertadores games that have taken place since we last recorded (since we recorded this episode, Boca Juniors beat Montevideo Wanderers 2-1 on Thursday night), and have a brief conversation about the Copa Argentina.

The 2015 Monster Championship has begun, and in the hundred and seventy-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Santi and Peter convene to look back on the first weekend of action. Champions Racing got off to a losing start, Independiente edged a five-goal thriller, whilst things were rather more pedestrian for River Plate, Boca Juniors and San Lorenzo, who all recorded routine wins. The first managerial casualty of the season has, faintly ridiculously, already occurred, with Reinaldo Merlo sacked by Colón. We also look at the Copa Libertadores and tell you exactly who will qualify from each group.

Hand Of Pod returns from the summer break with our first episode of 2015. Sam, Andrés, Peter and Gustavo preview Argentina's controversial new 30-team top flight in this episode. Which teams have done best and worst in the transfer market, who's already had some form of competitive action to get warmed up for the task ahead, and should Argentine sides be expected to make waves in this year's Copa Libertadores? All these questions are answered, along with some more, probably. We are pleased to announce a new partnership with the Argentina Independent starting in this episode - they pay for our fernet, we tell you that argentinaindependent.com is an excellent English-language source of news from Argentina and across Latin America. Check it out.

The hundred and seventieth episode of Hand Of Pod is our last of 2014, and we leave on an unexpected note: Racing Club managed not to racinguear on Sunday, and are the new champions of Argentina. Sam and Andrés, River Plate fans, are for once outnumbered by Racing fans; English Dan, Ilan and the prodigal son of Hand Of Pod, Seba García. We discuss Racing's fine end-of-championship form to lift the trophy, and where the side go from here. We also have a special appearance from Marrakesh by San Lorenzo fan Mariano, who's travelled to watch his team at the Club World Cup; what did he make of the semi-final extra time win over Auckland City, and what does he expect for Saturday's final against Real Madrid? You'll have to listen to find out. The 2015 Primera fixture list has already been released, too, and we discuss that and look back on a memorable 2014 for Argentine football, which has seen Argentine clubs win both South American club cups, a highly entertaining championship all round during the second half of the year, and the small matter of the national side reaching the World Cup final. Good luck to San Lorenzo on Saturday, and may 2015 be every bit as memorable. Merry Christmas (or happy celebration of your choice) to our listeners, and we'll be back in the new year!