Hand Of Pod

Hand Of Pod episode 139 is a bumper edition, featuring Sam, Santi, Andrés and Peter. They discuss not one but two rounds of Torneo Final action, including a 3-3 thriller between Racing and Estudiantes which no-one saw coming, and a 2-1 away win for Rosario Central in Sunday's Rosario clásico against Newell's Old Boys. Three sides lead the Torneo Final on 21 points, with two more just behind them on 20, and the top nine are separated by just three points. We also look at Argentine hopes in the Copa Libertadores - at the time of recording, Lanús, Vélez Sarsfield and Arsenal had all confirmed their places in the knockout stage. A couple of hours after recording ended, San Lorenzo joined them, but just as this episode was uploaded on Thursday night, Newell's Old Boys crashed out. Santi's not been on for a while and has grown jealous of HOP new boy Gustavo hugging the lower league limelight, so we also let him give a roundup of Ascenso action, and look at the frankly slightly silly notion that Boca Juniors might be in relegation trouble next season. Since we recorded, and following Newell's Copa exit, their manager Alfredo Berti has resigned.

The hundred-and-thirty-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod was recorded at lunchtime on Tuesday, over mate, in order for us to get it to you ahead of (most of) the eleventh round of Torneo Final action. It features Sam, English Dan and a brief guest appearance from Sam's brother, Will, who tells us what it was like watching - or rather, trying to watch - Boca Juniors v River Plate from a cafe on the Bolivian border with a small child who was more interested in cartoons. We dissect River's 2-1 away win in the superclásico as no other English-language Argentine football podcast can, as well as considering the other results from the weekend and how they affect the title and relegation races. We also take a look at how Argentine sides are doing with one match each of the Copa Libertadores group stages left, give a mention to some very good news for San Lorenzo fans, and much more. Enjoy.

The hundred-and-thirty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Peter and Andrés joined by German Dan to discuss an interesting weekend of matches, at the end of which Colón were still top of the Torneo Final pile, and looking increasingly likely to avoid relegation, points deduction or no points deduction. There were surprising results on Saturday and more predictable ones on Sunday, which concluded with a dire goalless draw between Quilmes and Boca Juniors. Boca's next match is of course at home to their arch rivals River Plate, so as ever we dedicate a chunk of this week's pod to previewing the superclásico; will River get their first win in La Bombonera in a decade? Can Boca lift their game? We also discuss Dan's side Argentinos Juniors, and what's gone wrong for them, and Peter tries to give us a quick lowdown of what mentalness is happening at Independiente this week. All this and more awaits...

In episode 136 of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Peter, Andrés and some bloke called Joel who wandered in wanting to record discuss last weekend's Torneo Final action. There are thirteen teams within six points of the top after half the championship has been played, and in spite of an unexpectedly thrilling defeat to All Boys, River Plate are one of them. Boca Juniors are also up there, also in spite of themselves, whilst the table is still lead, oddly, by Colón (who before this episode was uploaded, beat Tigre 1-0 to ensure they'll be joint top for another week on Friday night). Circumstances prevented this one being edited and uploaded before early Saturday morning, but it was recorded on Wednesday evening.

In the hundred-and-thirty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Peter look back over a weekend which saw two of the title frontrunners - league leaders Colón and their pursuers Estudiantes - drop points, allowing the race to become even more congested; even River Plate, who picked up seven points in three games last week, are only three points off the lead, despite now not having scored more than once in a league game for more than half a season. We run the rule over each of the Big Five, particularly Boca's distinctly un-crisis-like form, and ask how Argentina's sides are getting on (or were, as of Wednesday evening) in the Copa Libertadores. Listeners' questions range from how a 'local national team' would do at the World Cup to the future of Argentine full backs.

In the hundred-and-thirty-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by Peter, English Dan and Andrés, as well as Gustavo Malamud, an Atlanta fan. We discuss another double round of matches - we're a third of the way through the Torneo Final already - in which it was a decent week for Colón and Newell's Old Boys among others, a poor one for Racing (obviously) and Arsenal, and a more mixed one for other sides, including the two giants River Plate and Boca Juniors. We consider where the Argentine national side are in relation to where they'd like to be ahead of the World Cup, Gustavo gives us a primer on the Primera B - that's the THIRD division - and we reveal what this season's English Premier League relegation battle would look like if the Football Association decided to adopt the Argentine relegation system.

The hundred-and-thirty-first episode of Hand Of Pod features Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Ilan. They look back over the fourth round of the Torneo Final, which saw some wonderfully entertaining games: two golazos from Gonzalo Castellani as Godoy Cruz beat Rosario Central 3-0; a 3-2 thriller in La Fortaleza where Lanús ousted Vélez; a frankly slightly silly 2-2 draw in the round's final match between Gimnasia and Belgrano in La Plata... and a simply awe-inspiring performance from Newell's, who ended a run of thirteen matches without in spectacular fashion, dismantling Atlético de Rafaela to claim a 4-1 victory (they did it again as this episode was being edited, beating Nacional 4-0 in the Copa Libertadores). Boca Juniors finally won a game; their 1-0 win over Estudiantes was the La Plata side's first defeat of the year. And of course, River Plate and Racing are both looking awful again. We ask why that is. Enjoy.

In the hundred-and-thirty-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by English Dan, Peter and Rob, and we discuss not one but two rounds of league action, with the third round having been played in midweek. San Lorenzo have started looking like the defending champions with back-to-back victories, Estudiantes have started with three straight wins to top the table early on, Racing look like... well, Racing, and it's been a poor week for Boca Juniors. River Plate are in hot water over another security issue at the Estadio Monumental, and Tigre manager Fabián Alegre might be our new favourite manager. Oh, and Ricardo Caruso Lombardi's back. All this and much more...

The hundred-and-thirty-first episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Andrés and Rob look back over the opening weekend of the 2014 Torneo Final, which featured better than expected (better than we expected, at least) performances from River Plate and Boca Juniors, champions San Lorenzo starting as they don't mean to go on with a defeat away to Olimpo in Bahía Blanca, an impressive win for Racing - who endured a typically farcical situation surrounding their new signing Wason Rentería - and more. We ask whether Newell's have shot themselves in the foot by not adding to their strike force and whether Argentinos Juniors are going to be more entertaining this year, and give you the back story to the 20-year-old who'll be making his debut in goal for Belgrano away to Boca Juniors on Sunday.

Episode 130 of Hand Of Pod is the best-sounding ever, thanks to a new microphone paid for by the enormous generosity of HOP listener Doug Hart. Sam is joined by Santi, Mariano, Andrés and new HOP cast member Peter Coates to look back over a relatively quiet summer in the transfer market, and look forward to a hectic-looking Torneo Final. Éver Banega's move to Newell's Old Boys, River Plate's and Racing's impressive pre-seasons, Boca Juniors' continuing injury woes and more are all up for discussion, among much more. Enjoy.