Hand Of Pod

The seventy-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Dan and Joel meet to discuss a goal-filled weekend. There were thirty-five goals in ten matches, and Joel drew the short straw and managed to pick what turned out to be the only goalless draw of the round to attend. We wonder how anyone could possibly have doubted Matías Almeyda's position at River Plate (ahem), consider yet more ridiculous pressure being heaped on Julio César Falcioni at Boca Juniors, and cast our expert eyes over Wednesday night's Argentina v Brazil 'local national team' friendly, which will kick off just under a couple of hours after this episode was uploaded. Enjoy.

In the seventy-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Dan and Joel return to discuss last weekend's Torneo Inicial action, and the fallout. Racing beat River Plate in the derby, and Matías Almeyda's job security - as well as the bit of a non-story about quotes from his autobiography finally reaching Europe - are up for discussion. We also look at Newell's Old Boys' excellent form as they top the table, ask when Independiente, Tigre and Unión will finally manage to win a match, and discuss a second straight 4-0 home win for San Martín de San Juan. All this, and much more.

In the seventy-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Dan and Joel begin life without Australian Dan with another bumper episode, during which we look at the increasing impatience towards River Plate and Racing managers Matías Almeyda and Luís Zubeldía ahead of the clásico between the two clubs this weekend. We also recount last Friday's hilarious press conference at La Bombonera in which Juan Román Riquelme led everyone a merry dance, and look back at last weekend's results, as well as considering the importance of the Superclásico de Las Américas, a friendly double-header between the domestic national sides of Argentina and Brazil (Brazil won the first leg 2-1 shortly after we recorded this episode). And as of this week, Mystic Dan is replaced by Mystic Sam. Enjoy.

The seventy-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod is a sad affair, being as it is Australian Dan's final appearance as a full HOP-er. As well as discussing this momentous event, we also find time for less important things, such as Argentina's latest World Cup qualifying double-header and last weekend's league action, which saw none of the top NINE win their matches, and in particular a brilliant 3-3 draw between River Plate and Newell's Old Boys. We also, of course, have the last ever Mystic Dan. Enjoy.

The seventy-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod is a bumper one ahead of Friday evening's World Cup qualifier in Córdoba between Argentina and Paraguay. Gearing up for that match, we've got Asunción resident Ralph Hannah on to tell us what's been going on with the Paraguayan national team, and also take a look at the Argentine side and their chances. There's a full weekend of league games in Argentina as well, and we look back on the last round which included a draw for River Plate seemingly in spite of their manager, a hat-trick from a potential Next Big Thing at Racing, an enormous number of red cards, and no shortage of goals. Enjoy.

In the seventy-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Dan, Joel and Dan are joined by Mariano, our tamed San Lorenzo fan, once again as we dissect an underwhelming weekend of Primera División action marked mainly by River Plate's somewhat tiresome reaction to their own incompetence in last weekend's 0-0 draw against San Lorenzo. We also look at a tax scandal involving player transfers (not only involving River, in case that headline confused you), consider Independiente's ongoing turmoil, and run the rule over the latest national team squad, which includes Hernán Barcos, a player you could be forgiven for not having heard of if you don't live in South America.

The seventy-third episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Dan and Dan welcome tamed San Lorenzo fan Mariano back to the podcast for his third appearance. We take the opportunity to ask him to get us up to date on San Lorenzo's current very confused off-pitch situation, as well as getting his thoughts on how the team have started the season. We look at a thumping win for Racing in the Avellaneda derby against Independiente, consider wins for both River Plate and Boca Juniors, and discuss two stunning long-range goals, from Newell's Ignacio Scocco and Lanús' Víctor Ayala.

In the seventy-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Dan, Dan and Joel look back on Argentina's 3-1 friendly win over Germany hours before, and consider just how little we learned about Argentina from it. We have a Lionel Messi stat-off, before moving on to consider the lowest-scoring round of football in the Argentine Primera División in just over a decade. We wonder who owns Ignacio Piatti, exactly (he's signed for San Lorenzo since the episode was recorded), consider Lucas Ocampos' move to AS Monaco and briefly preview the coming weekend's clásico de Avellaneda among other things. Enjoy.

In the seventy-first episode of Hand Of Pod, we celebrate Joel Richards' liberation from his building after he was locked in during last week's episode. We also look back at an eventful first weekend of action in the Torneo Inicial, which included opening weekend losses for both Boca Juniors and River Plate, as well as a very impressive win - against very poor opposition - for Vélez Sarsfield. We recap Boca's and All Boys' hilarious journey back to Argentina from Venezuela, and preview the Copa Argentina final which - because producer/uploader Sam got the kick off time mixed up for - is being played as I type these words.

The seventieth episode of Hand Of Pod brings a preview of the new season, which for the first time sees the Torneos Apertura and Clausura renamed Inicial and Final, and will see only one champion at the end of the season. Well, that was how it was going to be when we recorded. AFA have since decided there will be a champion at the end of each. Hmm. We discuss the main transfer ins and outs of the winter break, as well as new boys Quilmes' and River Plate's chances of surviving in the Primera, among other things. And this week's Q&A section was conducted live on Twitcam! It's a bumper episode for the season, so enjoy.