Hand Of Pod

In the eighty-third episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Joel are joined by Jonathan Wilson, who helps us review Sunday's superclásico, which ended in a 2-2 draw between River Plate and Boca Juniors thanks to a late equaliser from Julio César Falcioni's teacher's pet Walter Erviti. We also look at Newell's Old Boys' win over champions Arsenal de Sarandí, and at Racing's away loss to Vélez Sarsfield, who are now second, three points behind Newell's. All this, and listeners' questions ranging from the national team to why you should keep watching Argentine football in spite of some horrendous crowd trouble in the Boca end on Sunday.

In the eighty-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan, Joel and Ed run their critical eyes over the biggest clash of last weekend, Racing v Newell's (2nd v 1st), and explain why we enjoyed it even though many who weren't there thought it wasn't such a great game on TV. We discuss the continued development of an interesting title race, before moving on to the biggest match of the year in Argentina: the return of the superclásico after River Plate's year in the second division. We preview River v Boca Juniors - which will be played on Sunday afternoon - and talk about the history and some of the reasons it's become the biggest fixture in the country. Enjoy.

The eighty-first episode of Hand Of Pod is another bumper one, with a look back on Argentina's 3-0 dispatching of Uruguay last Friday and Tuesday's hard-fought 2-1 win away to Chile, as well as the main World Cup qualifying results in the rest of the CONMEBOL region, including an impressive Radamel Falcao García- and James Rodríguez-inspired win over Paraguay for Colombia. We then move on to the domestic scene, where the main story is Juan Antonio Pizzi's confirmation as San Lorenzo manager, before answering a veritable barrage of listeners' questions. Next week: the superclásico preview. Enjoy!

Episode 80 of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, English Dan and Joel welcome guest Ed Malyon to Buenos Aires, and in a bumper episode we go through last weekend's Torneo Inicial action - which included a woeful loss for Boca Juniors, a very impressive win for leaders Newell's Old Boys and a thumping 5-0 victory for River Plate against Godoy Cruz. We also answer listeners' questions on the sons of ex players coming through club youth ranks and more, and cast our eyes over Argentina's upcoming World Cup Qualifiers - at home to Uruguay on Friday and away to Chile on Tuesday. Enjoy.

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.