Hand Of Pod

The hundred and sixty-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod is going online rather late this week, mostly because Sam's computer was out of order for a while, delaying the editing process. In it, Sam and Andrés discuss River Plate's long-awaited return to international glory, after they claimed their first international trophy in seventeen years by winning the Copa Sudamericana (the continent's second most important competition) on Wednesday night. What should River aim at next year, and would this highly successful 2014 have been possible had the club not been relegated in 2011, among other considerations? We then move our focus to preview Sunday's two league title deciders, as leaders Racing host Godoy Cruz and second-placed River (them again) visit Quilmes. Is there any chance at all that Racing will do a Racing and cock it up? Could River complete an unlikely double? Sunday's matches both kick off at 8:30pm Argentine time (11:30pm Greenwich Mean Time), and we'll be back late next week to fill you in on what happens.

The hundred and sixty-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Andrés and Peter recording in Sam's new living room, with the traffic noise of Avenida Santa Fe drifting in through the (closed) windows. There's plenty to discuss, because it's been a week since River Plate saw off Boca Juniors 1-0 in an epic Copa Sudamericana semi-final clash, and just a day (at the time of recording) since they secured a 1-1 draw in Medellín against Atlético Nacional to give themselves a decent chance in their home leg of the final, next Wednesday. We also look back on the three most important games of last weekend, which saw Lanús drop out of the title race as Racing stayed top with a 3-0 win away to Rosario Central, and River clung to their coat-tails to take the title race to a postponed last weekend with a thrilling 3-2 win over Banfield, which included Fernando Cavenaghi's 100th and 101st goals for the club. All this, and much more...

The hundred and sixty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod is the first to fall neatly between two superclásicos, and Sam is joined by Andrés, Gustavo and Asli (and her canine companion Vinicius) to look back on last Thursday night's disappointingly dull 0-0 in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana semi-final, and forward to this Thursday's return leg between River Plate and Boca Juniors. At the weekend, River took a gamble with their team selection against Racing in the league, and it backfired - Racing snatched a 1-0 win to go top of the table with two games remaining. There were surprising wins away from home for Godoy Cruz and Arsenal de Sarandí, some promotions to next year's top flight have been clinched, and there was a barra brava turf battle in the cafeteria of River's stadium. We also give you the clearest idea we possibly can of what the 2015 Primera División is going to look like, because that seems to have been confirmed now (though further developments would surprise none of us).

In the hundred and sixty-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by English Dan for an afternoon espresso and a chat about an interesting week past and a thrilling one to come. We begin with some discussion of the latest declarations from the AFA, which shed a little (but just a little)light on how the Primera will look in 2015, but which fail to answer all the pertinent questions. After that, we move on to a quick review of last weekend's top flight action, which saw River Plate and Lanús both drop points, allowing Racing and Independiente to gain ground. We then consider the coming week, with the Copa Argentina semi-finals to be played shortly after this episode goes online on Wednesday, followed on Thursday by the first leg of an epic Copa Sudamericana semi-final between Boca Juniors and River - sandwiched between which, league leaders River also visit second-placed Racing. These are going to be days which will define River's campaign, so enjoy this episode while it's relevant!

The hundred and sixty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod was recorded late in the week, because Friday was the fourth anniversary - one whole World Cup cycle! - of our first ever episode going online. Sam is joined by one of the HOPers from that first episode, English Dan, as well as by Andrés, Peter and Gustavo, to look back on a week which had just about everything in Argentine football; a highly controversial refereeing performance, a tightening title race as River Plate's club record unbeaten run finally came to an end, the Argentine FA making more changes to the structure of the next few championships, football-related deaths in depressing quantities, and a lot more besides. We also asked you, the listeners, to tweet and email us some of your favourite Argentine football memories from the last four years. We hope you've enjoyed the ride so far, as we embark on our fifth year...

Episode 164 of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by English Dan for a congenial afternoon espresso and a chat about the past week in Argentine football. No fewer than four Primera matches were rained off last weekend, including those of the top three in the table, which allowed Racing, with a fifth win in seven matches, to move into third place. Dan, of course, is eager to give them full credit for this, and Sam humours him. We cast our eye over some of the rest of the league as usual, before looking forward to the second legs of the Copa Sudamericana quarter-finals involving Argentine sides; Boca Juniors' trip to Asunción to take on Cerro Porteño was kicking off shortly as this episode was uploaded, whilst River Plate v Estudiantes de La Plata gets underway in a few hours. This week's episode is a short one - ideal for sharing with your friends if they've not listened before!

In episode 163 of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by Peter and Andrés to discuss Carlos Tevez's return to the Argentine national team, ahead of the upcoming friendlies in England against Croatia at Upton Park and Portugal at Old Trafford. After that, we spend a good while wondering just how good this current River Plate team are, after Marcelo Gallardo's boys beat Estudiantes 2-1 in the Copa Sudamericana on Wednesday evening to make it 29 matches unbeaten in all competitions - equalling River's best unbeaten run of the professional era, and leaving them just two short of the longest unbeaten run in the club's entire history. Does this say more about the current state of the Argentine league than anything else? After that, we look at the rest of the league. Listeners' questions include just how things are going for Juan Román Riquelme's Argentinos Juniors.

The hundred and sixty-second episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Peter and Andrés joined one last time (or so he claims) by Neil Clack, author of an actual published book. We look back on Rosario Central's 2-0 win over Newell's Old Boys in last weekend's clásico rosarino, and consider where Newell's go next, before reviewing the rest of the weekend's action - and a very satisfying seven days for River Plate. The Argentine sides in the Copa Sudamericana get a once-over (except Boca, who only secured their place in the quarter-finals a couple of hours after we finished recording this episode), and we talk a bit about the incoming league structure and other annoying related things.

In the hundred and sixty-first episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on Argentina's two recent friendlies in China - in Beijing against Brazil and in Hong Kong against Hong Kong (although neither of us saw the latter). We explain why the AFA won't be getting any money themselves from the Hong Kong match, before looking at the weekend's Primera action, which saw River Plate emerge as the big winners - other sides stumbling, combined with River's 1-0 win away to Newell's Old Boys, means the champions have a four point lead at the top of the table. We also belatedly preview this weekend's Rosario clásico between Central and Newell's, among much more.

The hundred and sixtieth episode of Hand Of Pod is a chance for Sam, Andrés and Peter to review Sunday's superclásico, in which River Plate and Boca Juniors played out a 1-1 draw in an extremely wet Estadio Monumental. A poor refereeing performance, a farcical pitch and, above all, an awful lot of rain were on the agenda for Sam (who was lucky enough to be there), whilst the others enjoyed it from the warmer and drier surroundings of their sofas. Elsewhere, Tigre made it three league wins out of three under Gustavo Alfaro, Lanús kept the pressure on River at the top of the table by beating Rosario Central, and Independiente's good run continued with a highly entertaining 2-2 draw away to Godoy Cruz. All this and some typically interesting listeners' questions are right here. Enjoy!