Hand Of Pod

Sam, Peter and Andrés begin Hand Of Pod 153 with a look at two of the biggest Argentine moves in the European transfer window so far - World Cup star Marcos Rojo's move from Sporting to Manchester United, and World Cup flop Federico Fernández's transfer from Napoli to Swansea City. We ask how much the World Cup really told us about both players' levels. We then look back on the second weekend of Primera División action, which saw a superb performance from River Plate, a comfortable 2-0 win for Racing over newly-crowned champions of South America San Lorenzo, and an undeserved but potentially morale-boosting victory for Boca Juniors away to Belgrano, as well as a rollicking five-goal thriller between Banfield and Defensa y Justicia, two of the promoted sides. Enjoy.

On the hundred and fifty-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Peter, Andrés and Joel are joined by Neil Clack, a former resident of Buenos Aires and author of Animals! The Story of England v Argentina, who is visiting BA again after a few years away. We've got a lot to talk about, starting with San Lorenzo's first ever Copa Libertadores win on Wednesday night. We also discuss Gerardo Martino's unveiling as Argentina manager after Alejandro Sabella stood down, Juan Sebastián Verón's announcement that he'll stand for the Estudiantes de La Plata presidency in September, yet more potential messing around with the league structure... oh, and the first weekend of league action, because that happened as well. It's a long one, but we hope you'll enjoy it.

In the hundred-and-fifty-first episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Santi, Andrés and Peter have a lot of explaining to do. That's because the new season is upon us, and it behoves us to explain why we're entering a 'transitional championship' and what exactly we're transitioning to (erm, we don't really know at this stage, and the AFA don't seem 100% decided either). We ask which sides did best in the winter transfer window, which sides did worse, and whether Racing can once again flatter to deceive having apparently strengthened impressively. Can River Plate defend their title? Will Boca Juniors finally step out of Juan Román Riquelme's shadow? These and many more issues are dealt with. We also take a look at San Lorenzo's Copa Libertadores final, which is currently 1-1 after the first leg, with the second leg to come in Buenos Aires on Wednesday.

One story dominates the hundred-and-fiftieth episode of Hand Of Pod, and we make no apologies for it: Sam and Andrés mark a landmark episode with discussion of Julio Grondona's exit from his position as head of the Argentine FA, which came to pass in the manner he frequently said it would; in a coffin. The FIFA Vice-President died on Wednesday afternoon, and we ask what the consequences will be for the AFA and for FIFA. If you don't believe in speaking ill of the dead, you might want to avoid this one. We also congratulate San Lorenzo on reaching their first ever Copa Libertadores final, ask whether outgoing Argentina boss Alejandro Sabella was the man who killed Grondona (sort of), and answer a few listeners' questions. Thanks to all our listeners for helping us reach this milestone; here's to another 150 episodes!

The hundred-and-forty-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Gustavo look back on the semi-final and final of Argentina's World Cup campaign, and on the tournament as a whole from the Argentine perspective. What went wrong, what went right, what could have better and more. We ask whether Lionel Messi had a good or a bad tournament, look at the reasons for his attacking colleagues not firing on all cylinders, and consider what might have been in the final. We also turn our attention to some names for the future, and consider how Argentina's squad for the next World Cup, in Russia 2018, might look. At the time of posting, Alejandro Sabella hasn't made a decision on whether or not he'll continue in charge, but we also consider the good job he's done so far, and ask who might take over if he does decide to go.

The hundred-and-forty-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod was convened to discuss Argentina's historic qualification for their first World Cup semi-final since 1990, but before we get on to that, we have to begin by bidding farewell to Alfredo Di Stéfano, whose arrival in Madrid in 1953 changed the history of European football. Sam, Peter and Santi are joined by Argentine football historian Esteban Bekerman, who provides a unique perspective on Di Stéfano's place in Argentina's football culture and tells us how his game developed from the early years as a fast-paced centre forward at Huracán and River Plate to become perhaps the greatest all-round player who ever kicked a ball. After that, we look at Argentina's World Cup campaign so far; perhaps underwhelming performance-wise, but undoubtedly successful already given they've finally got past the barrier of the quarter-finals after so long waiting for a return to the semis. As listeners will realise towards the end, this episode was recorded before that astonishing Brazil 1-7 Germany first semi-final.

The hundred-and-forty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod is a very long one, we admit; but not without reason! Sam, Peter, Andrés and German Dan begin by looking at Independiente's return to the Primera following a mildly controversial 2-0 victory over Huracán in a tie-breaker to decide third place on Wednesday afternoon. After that brief starter, we dig into the main course which, of course, is Argentina at the Brazil 2014 World Cup; whether Lionel Messi can step it up, who the other main players will be, how they'll most likely line up, what lessons we could take from the friendlies and a lot more. There's more time than usual given over to listeners' questions, before as a dessert we have a brief chat about what we think of a few of the other nations. Enjoy.

The hundred-and-forty-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Peter and Andrés discuss River Plate's second trophy in a week (and their third in two weeks, if you're particularly easily pleased), Colón's relegation/Atlético de Rafaela's survival, the Argentine national team a little bit, and Independiente's chances of regaining Primera División status on Saturday, among other things. Soon, we'll have a World Cup preview episode. For now, enjoy this one.

The hundred-and-forty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, English Dan, Peter, Gustavo and Andrés joined by a documentary film crew from the USA; the American Fútbol boys have been touring Latin America and filming their way around it in the run-up to the World Cup. Before we get on to their story, though, there's plenty to review; starting with the end of another shocking season for Racing, but quickly moving on to the week's biggest story, River Plate's 35th Argentine top flight title, secured with a 5-0 thrashing of Quilmes last weekend. We also look at a near unbelievable end to the relegation struggle which is not, in fact, and end to the relegation struggle, since Colón and Atlético de Rafaela now have to play off to decide who goes down; that match will kick off roughly 12 hours after this podcast goes live (i.e. on Saturday afternoon). We have a general Torneo Final review including Boca Juniors' runner-up spot, and much more. Enjoy!

The hundred-and-forty-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod is recorded in Sam's living room, and he, Peter and Andrés - backed by a dog, an antiquated and improperly removed former doorbell and a passing heavy goods train - discuss Argentina's World Cup longlist, including why Carlos Tevez has NOT been left out for Franco Di Santo. We then move on to look at the last weekend of the Torneo Final, which begins on Friday but sees all its crunch matches on Saturday; will River Plate claim their first title since their return to the Primera? Will Estudiantes given Juan Sebastián Verón a trophy-winning send-off? Will Gimnasia finally end the wait for a professional Primera title? We also look at the relegation table, which sees Godoy Cruz enter the last weekend one point ahead of Colón and Atlético de Rafaela (if two or more sides end up tied on points, there'll be a playoff to decide who goes down). Enjoy.