Hand Of Pod

This time on Hand Of Pod, Sam is joined by English Dan, Tony and Santi to discuss how preparations are going for the return of the Copa Libertadores next week – in particular at Boca Juniors, whose plans have been somewhat hamstrung by almost the entire first team and a bunch of coaches testing positive for COVID-19. Will Argentine clubs be at a disadvantage due to not having played football in six months? What's happening to the women's game in the country? These questions and more are answered here.

In this week's HOP, Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi discuss CONMEBOL's recent strongarming of the AFA – and, perhaps, the Argentine government – into opening football in Argentina before they wanted to, with the rather sudden announcement that the Copas Libertadores and Sudamericana will be kicking off again later in the year.

HOP is back! This week, Sam, Tony and English Dan give you an update on the discussions that have been had in Argentine football – and what's happened quarantine-wise in Argentina as a whole – in the two months and a bit since we last recorded. We also answer a couple of listeners' questions. The plan now is to record about once every two weeks until football returns, but we're not really any the wiser yet about when that will be.

This week's Hand Of Pod will be the last episode we'll record in March. That was already going to be the case when Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Julian and Tony met to record, because the government announced on Monday that football across the country was suspended for the rest of the month. It's now well and truly the case, though, because on Thursday evening President Alberto Fernández announced a nationwide quarantine which will end when March ends. As such, we review the opening weekend of Copa Superliga action, including River Plate's refusal to play, and wonder what the immediate future will bring.

In this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Tony look back on the drama of Boca Juniors' title win, as the Xeneize pipped River Plate on the last day to win their third Argentine championship in four seasons. We also looked at the other drama from the weekend just gone ... which was almost none, because continental spots and relegation won't be decided until the end of the Copa Superliga group stage (if indeed that goes the distance). We also discuss the current situation regarding next season's league system for the top flight.

In this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi look back on a weekend which saw Santi very frustrated by Independiente (again), and which saw Boca Juniors win and River Plate draw, meaning River enter the final weekend of Superliga action just a point clear at the top. Will Boca get the combination of a win and a bad result for River they need to claim the title? We'll find out on Saturday night.

On this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Tony and Santi look at a weekend of action which saw the title race officially whittled down to the country's two biggest clubs, with River Plate still enjoying a three-point advantage over Boca Juniors with two matches remaining. Boca visit relegation strugglers Colón on Friday night, while River host Defensa y Justicia on Saturday.

In this week's Hand Of Pod, sponsored by albicelestes.com, Sam, English Dan, Tony and Andrés are joined by a new panel member, Santi, to discuss a weekend which saw both of the frontrunners for the title win their matches, meaning that River Plate's lead ahead of Boca Juniors at the top of the table remains at three points, now with just three matches to go. We discuss last weekend's matches, the title run-in and much more, including a lot of listener questions.

In this week's HOP, Sam, Tony and Andrés discuss a weekend which saw a dramatic clásico de Avellaneda, and witnessed the title race, so tight just a couple of weeks ago, begin to open up as the main contenders enter the home straight. Below those top spots, though, the race for the remaining Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana qualification places is still ridiculously tight. We've also got a Primera Femenina round-up, and plenty more.

On this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Tony look back on a weekend of action which saw River Plate maintain their three-point lead at the top of the table, while Boca Juniors took advantage of Argentinos Juniors' slip-up to go second. The Primera Femenina restarts this coming weekend so we give you an update on that, and there's lots more besides.

This week's Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Andrés, English Dan and Julian review the seventeenth round of Superliga action, which was the first of the new year. Julian runs the rule over Boca Juniors' summer, Andrés enjoyed a nervy but satisfying win for River in Mendoza (just for a change) and there was frustration for Dan's Racing under new boss Sebastián Beccacece.

In the first Hand Of Pod of 2020, Sam, English Dan, Tony and Andrés preview this weekend's return to Superliga action as the summer break comes to a close. Why are River Plate unhappy with kit suppliers adidas? Will Daniele De Rossi ever truly retire? How much longer will the Superliga be around for? All these questions and more are considered this week.

In the final episode of 2019, Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Tony look back on the last few games of the year, which tidied up a couple of the Superliga matches postponed from earlier rounds, and decided a couple of trophies of varying importance.

In the penultimate HOP of 2019, Sam, English Dan, Tony and Andrés review a round of Superliga action – the last before the summer break – in which most of the title hopefuls dropped points, not for the first time.

Hand Of Pod is back after Sam's holiday, and in this week's episode, English Dan, Andrés and Tony fill him in on what's been happening while he was away, including a review of River Plate's late collapse in the Copa Libertadores final, why Diego Maradona resigned and then unresigned as Gimnasia manager, and the main talking points ahead of Boca Juniors' presidential election on Sunday.

This Saturday, the first ever single-match final of South America's biggest club competition will be played, as holders River Plate take on Brazilian giants Flamengo in Lima's Estadio Monumental. In this week's Hand Of Pod – recorded last Thursday, because Sam is away on holiday – Sam and Andrés take you through both sides' route to the final, and consider what might happen on Saturday afternoon.

In this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on a weekend of Superliga action which saw all of the top four drop points (Boca Juniors were the only ones to even draw), ensuring a tight title race has got even tighter due to wins for a few of the chasing pack. We also consider the Copa Argentina semi-finals, one of which was played during and one of which was played after this recording (the final will pit Central Córdoba de Santiago del Estero against River Plate), and look forward to Friday's friendly between Argentina and Brazil, which is being played as I upload this episode.

In this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Tony are again joined by special guests Phil and Jamie to discuss a weekend in which victories for River Plate, Boca Juniors and Lanús combined with a draw for Argentinos Juniors to leave four teams separated by just a point at the top of the table. As well as this, Colón take on Independiente Del Valle in the Copa Sudamericana final on Saturday, and on that same day Estudiantes open their new stadium – although with a party rather than a match, because they host Talleres in the municipal stadium on Friday night.

This week in the Hand Of Pod studio, Sam, English Dan and Andrés are joined by two very special guests: Phil Carney, who runs the Lanús in English Twitter account, and Jamie Ralph, who runs the Newell's in English account, are both visiting Argentina for a couple of weeks, and came in to say hello. With them, we review a midweek round of Superliga action which saw Argentinos Juniors go clear at the top of the table, and River Plate go third – with Lanús, whose win over Boca Juniors was watched by Phil, and helped both of those clubs to climb the table, sitting between them. Jamie's first trip to the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa didn't go quite as well: Newell's were tonked by Diego Maradona's Gimnasia, who might be allowing themselves to dream of survival after all ...

On this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on the Copa Libertadores semi-final second legs, reviewing River Plate's progression in spite of defeat against Boca Juniors and Flamengo's crushing win over Grêmio. They ask whether the final will be as one sided as this week's two matches appear to suggest. And Mystic Sam predicts not one but two rounds of the Superliga.