Hand Of Pod

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.

The hundred-and-twenty-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod is also the last of 2013, and Sam is joined by English Dan and Joel to look back over a Torneo Inicial that was settled in an entirely predictable manner; with all four of the title hopefuls failing to win, meaning San Lorenzo took the trophy by default with the lowest points total of the three-points-for-a-win era. Lanús have the consolation of the Copa Sudamericana, only the third major trophy in their history (and the second in the last six years), whilst River Plate, Boca Juniors, Racing and the rest of the pre-season supposed title hopefuls could only look on enviously. We consider Colón's woeful last few months, look at how Independiente are going at the halfway point of their campaign in the B, and Joel gives us the lowdown on Rodolfo D'Onofrio, who as of Tuesday is the new president of River Plate, having won Sunday's elections by a resounding margin. It only remains for us to say thanks for listening during 2013, merry Christmas if you're celebrating it, and we look forward to entertaining (or at least bothering) you all again in 2014.

The hundred-and-twenty-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod was recorded two days before the start of the final round of league fixtures, and we still have no idea who out of San Lorenzo, Lanús, Newell's Old Boys and Vélez Sarsfield are going to be champions - Vélez host San Lorenzo and Newell's host Lanús in the last round, but those matches won't be played until Sunday the 15th. That's due to Lanús' participation in the Copa Sudamericana final (they drew the first leg 1-1 shortly after we recorded this episode). We also look at Racing's continuing improvement, San Lorenzo bottling the job against Estudiantes, a five goal thriller between Gimnasia and Quilmes, and give updates on the situations at Colón (who could be forcibly relegated) and Independiente (going well in the B). The next episode of Hand Of Pod won't be until after the league season is finally over, the week starting the 16th December.

In the hundred-and-twenty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and guest Ilan are invited round to English Dan's swish new pad. We discuss the fallout of last weekend's clásico, which saw Racing beat River Plate 1-0, and look at how and why the title frontrunners dropped points yet again (to be fair to them, in four cases it's because they were playing each other). We also bring the latest from the situation in Santa Fe, where Colón are in danger of being de-affiliated from the AFA, ask whether Ramón Díaz and Carlos Bianchi are really the best managers for River and Boca Juniors, and basically teach ourselves during the recording who All Boys' new manager Ricardo Rodríguez - who started with a 2-0 win in La Bombonera - is. Oh, and there's news of the first Swiss person ever to score a competitive goal in the Argentine league. Since this episode was recorded, Lanús have advanced to the final of the Copa Sudamericana, where they'll play Ponte Preta.

In the hundred-and-twenty-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Santi are joined by Rob Brown, an Englishman who's in Buenos Aires for a few months almost entirely in order to watch Juan Román Riquelme play. We discuss another weekend of surprising results and exciting matches - not least a five goal thriller in Sarandí, where Santi and Rob watched Arsenal beat Boca Juniors 3-2 - and look at crisis club Colón, whose players refused to turn up for their match against Atlético de Rafaela on Monday. Some of Colón's players are owed wages going back as far as a year, and the affair has cost club president (and Julio Grondona associate) Germán Lerche his position; he resigned after the fracas on Monday. We also ask how much worse River Plate can get, before considering a thrilling six-way title run-in (San Lorenzo, Newell's Old Boys, Arsenal, Boca Juniors, Lanús and even Rafaela all have a decent shot at the trophy) and looking back on Argentina's international friendlies in the USA, among other topics.

The 125th episode of Hand Of Pod was recorded on our third birthday, and Andrés and Sam raise a glass to that fact before getting stuck in to last weekend's action, which saw Boca Juniors make up some ground on the top two, Newell's Old Boys and San Lorenzo, after they'd drawn against each other. The biggest winners of the last few weeks, though, have been Copa Sudamericana semi-finalists Lanús, who might just have a tilt at the title. We check out the run-ins that each of the top five have with four matches of the season remaining, and ask whether Atlético de Rafaela could possibly be candidates as well (answer: no). There's another chance to moan about how crap River Plate are, and a celebration of the fact that Vélez Sarsfield's elimination from the Copa Sudamericana last week means South American football's not bent after all. What better birthday present could we ask for?

The hundred-and-twenty-forth episode of Hand Of Pod is one of our shortest ever episodes, but hopefully we've still got enough to be going on with. Racing, having won twice in a row, are officially no longer rubbish, and English Dan celebrates by returning to the pod. He and Sam run the rule over Racing's sudden improvement, and contrast it with River Plate's absolutely awful form, which plumbed new depths on Wednesday night as they lost 3-1 at home to Lanús to go out of the Copa Sudamericana. We ask why David Trezeguet didn't start for Newell's Old Boys last weekend - he came off the bench to score twice, helping them claim a 2-2 draw away to Colón - and look forward to this weekend's big top of the table clash between Newell's and San Lorenzo. All this and much more. Next week, Hand Of Pod turns three years old, so please share this episode with your friends and join us next week for the celebration!