Hand Of Pod

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!

In the hundred and fifty-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by Andrés, Gustavo and Joel to preview this Sunday's clash between River Plate and Boca Juniors in the Monumental. We give an overview of the history of the fixture (and who better to guide us through it than Joel, who wrote the book on the rivalry?), and bring things up to date with a look at how both sides' campaigns have gone so far. A look at last weekend in the Torneo de Transición follows, with Newell's Old Boys' unbeaten record brought to an end by Banfield, and Racing starting to look competent again (give it a week...). The superclásico on Sunday will be live to the world for free on YouTube via Fútbol Para Todos' channel - this is the only preview you need for it.

The hundred and fifty-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and English Dan discuss Gerardo Martino's first real Argentina squad, after he was obliged to name an AFA-imposed one for the friendly against Germany earlier this month. We discuss why Carlos Tevez wasn't included, and what the inclusions of Erik Lamela and Javier Pastore tell us about where Martino is going with his side. The AFA are talking about reverting the format of the league back to a 20-team top flight from 2016, and we have a weekend of action to look back on including yet another River Plate victory - this time a 4-1 thrashing of third-placed Independiente (which explains why Peter was mysteriously unavailable this week).

The hundred and fifty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés beging with a look back at Sunday evening, when one-and-a-third matches were called off due to some 'orrible weather in (Greater) Buenos Aires throughout the day. We wish good luck to Jonás Gutiérrez in his fight against testicular cancer, and look back on the matches last weekend which actually did get played; Independiente have gone joint second, along with Newell's Old Boys, whilst Vélez Sarsfield have slumped somewhat in recent weeks. Oh, and we also have the Dwarf Priest of La Plata to talk about, as we look back on one La Plata clásico (in the Copa Sudamericana on Tuesday) and forward to another (in the league on Saturday).

In the hundred and fifty-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Peter and Andrés are joined, surprisingly, by Neil Clack and we discuss a week of enormous confusion in the headquarters of the Argentine Football Association; dates have been moved back and forth for not one, not two, but three different competitions, but we give you the definitive say on when the superclásico will be played: it's the 5th October. Well, it was when we recorded anyway. Who knows when it will be now. We also talk about River Plate's continued impressive performances, ask whether Boca are improving in anything more than results, spend a good deal of time laughing at Racing (well, they make it so easy for us) and tack on a quick bit of chat at the end about Colombia's World Cup captain Mario Yepes, who looks like he's joining San Lorenzo.

The hundred and fifty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod is a rather long one, because we've had a lot to cover; Sam, Peter and Andrés are joined by a special guest, the Sydney Morning Herald's Sebastian Hassett, who's been touring South America since the World Cup finished. We have two rounds of domestic action to look back on since the last episode, and those have included the sacking by Boca Juniors of Carlos Bianchi, their victory (and impressive performance) over Vélez Sarsfield in the first match of new man Rodolfo Arruabarrena's spell in charge, River Plate going top of the table with another couple of very good showings, Tigre manager Fabián Alegre finally being sacked after a year of solid defending but disappointing attacking... oh, and also a few Copa Sudamericana games, the Avellaneda clásico in which Independiente beat Racing 2-1, and the small matter of an Ángel Di María-inspired Argentina thrashing Germany 4-2 in Düsseldorf on Wednesday - we take it as an excuse to discuss the impact he could have for Manchester United, as well as looking at how Gerardo Martino's Argentina might be made up.

The hundred and fifty-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod is one of those rare episodes which clocks in at well under an hour. Sam is joined by English Dan for a daytime recording, looking back on a goal-filled weekend of action in the Primera which saw no fewer than three 4-0 scorelines and a 3-3 - this season still hasn't produced any goalless draws. Vélez Sarsfield and River Plate particularly impressed, whilst a 3-0 win for Atlético de Rafaela - their first ever in La Bombonera - has plunged Boca Juniors still deeper into crisis. We wonder how much longer Carlos Bianchi can cling on as manager, and whether Boca's problems run deeper than simply having let Juan Román Riquelme go during the winter transfer window. There's a midweek round (or two-thirds of one, at least) on Tuesday and Wednesday, hence the early recording of this episode.