Episode 332: ¡Racing campeón!

In the three-hundred-and-thirty-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Andrés look back on a weekend of Superliga action which saw Racing crowned champions of Argentina in spite of late goals for both Tigre and Defensa y Justicia. They also look at what’s left in the final weekend of the campaign coming up: the relegation battle, the race to finish in the Copa Sudamericana spots, and whether Boca Junors can leapfrog Defensa to claim second place.

HOP is sponsored by Fanatiz. Fanatiz allows you to watch the Argentine Superliga and the Copa Argentina live or on demand, as well as offering TyCSports International and other premium South American sports channels to viewers outside Latin America. If you’re in the United States, it also allows you to watch the Copas Libertadores and Sudamericana live, and European competitions including Spain’s La Liga, via tie-ins with beIN Sports and Gol TV. HOP listeners can get 20% off their first three months with Fanatiz by visiting this page and using the discount code hopfz when signing up.

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Episode 260: Previewing Argentina v Brazil, and Boca Juniors put one hand on the league trophy

The two hundred and sixtieth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés looking back over a weekend which saw River Plate lose ground in potentially decisive fashion to Boca Juniors, whose win over Independiente – combined with River’s defeat to San Lorenzo – sent them four points clear with just three matches remaining. It was also an interesting weekend for the relegation battle, and we look over the key results there. On Friday, Jorge Sampaoli’s reign as Argentina manager begins in earnest with a friendly in Australia against Brazil, and we also preview that.

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Episode 253: Tragedy in Córdoba, and River join the title race

The two hundred and fifty-third episode of Hand Of Pod features Sam and Andrés, who are joined via Skype by Luke Smith, who’s able to give us a Córdoba-dweller’s perspective on the tragedy that struck Argentine football over the weekend when Belgrano fan Emanuel Balbo was murdered in the stands at half time of the Córdoba clásico on Saturday. What exactly happened, and what the punishment might end up being for Belgrano are among the topics discussed. We also look over a weekend of football which saw River Plate – in somewhat controversial circumstances – become the only member of the top five to win  their match, and in so doing arguably join the title race, although they still have some distance to make up on Boca Juniors. As well as all this, there are listeners’ questions on the second tier and on the most southerly clubs in Argentina’s pyramid (which also happen to be the most southerly clubs in the world).

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Mystic Luke’s twenty-first round predictions (last week Mystic Chris got 3/15)
San Lorenzo v Temperley
Aldosivi v Newell’s
Racing v Atlético Tucumán
Banfield v Quilmes
Defensa y Justicia v Lanús
Vélez v Unión
Central v Gimnasia
Estudiantes v Huracán
Atlético Rafaela v Boca
San Martín v Belgrano
River v Sarmiento
Talleres v Godoy Cruz
Arsenal v Independiente
Patronato v Olimpo
Colón v Tigre

Episode 207: We are five! Previewing Argentina v Brazil with Tim Vickery

Episode 207 of Hand Of Pod is a very special one, because on Friday we turn five years old. Sam is joined for the celebration by Andrés, English Dan, Peter and very special guest Tim Vickery, who’s flown down from Rio de Janeiro specially for the occasion. Entirely coincidentally to Tim’s visit (honest), on Thursday night Argentina host Brazil in World Cup qualifying, so after a review of last weekend’s most important league action – which saw Nueva Chicago relegated in spite of an impressive win over Quilmes – and a discussion about our team of the championship, we move on to previewing Argentina v Brazil. There’s plenty of chat throughout about the differences between football in the two countries, from the trends in management (Argentina good, Brazil bad) to player development, in which it seems both countries have something of an imbalance in very different ways. HOP is sponsored by Argentina Independent, a fine English-language source of news from Argentina and across Latin America.

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Mystic Sam’s predictions for Argentina’s two upcoming WCQs:
Two draws

Episode 181: River and Boca are joint top, the problem with Independiente & more

In the hundred and eighty-first episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Peter look back on a weekend of action that left River Plate and Boca Juniors joint top of the table as they prepare to head into their clash at La Bombonera on the 3rd May (there are no matches this weekend). The two will also clash twice after that in the last 16 of the Copa Libertadores, but we’ll do a full preview of those matches next week; this time round we look at Racing and Independiente, who both drew their matches 0-0 last weekend, and consider some of the league’s less heralded heroes so far. This week’s history bit has Dan telling us about the time Alfredo Di Stéfano was kidnapped by a Venezuelan group of political protesters. HOP is sponsored by Argentina Independent, a fine English-language source of news from Argentina and across Latin America.

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There’s no Mystic Sam this week, but as a team we’re predicting a River win over Huracán in Saturday’s Supercopa Argentina, and for Aldosivi to turn their 1-0 advantage with an hour to play into a win away to Arsenal when that match is finished (which is what Sam originally predicted for that game anyway), also on Saturday.

Episode 71: River and Boca both lose, are Vélez back? and Joel Richards is free again!

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.

As ever, you’ll find Mystic Dan’s predictions for the second round below. And you can subscribe to us on iTunes here.

Episode 46: The 2011 Apertura review

In the forty-sixth epsiode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Seba and English Dan look back on the 2011 Torneo Apertura, which ended on Monday. Boca Juniors ended as undefeated champions, and the champions with the most points difference ahead of the team(s) in second place. We look at Boca’s record, Racing’s underwhelming campaign, Tigre’s ongoing woe and Godoy Cruz’s joy at their Copa Libertadores qualification. There’s the Hand Of Pod Team Of The Apertura (well, most of it) and a whole glut of readers’ questions on everything from the structure of the league to Racing’s 1967 Intercontinental Cup win over Celtic. This is the last Hand Of Pod of 2011, so Merry Christmas to all, and a happy new year. We’ll see you in 2012.

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Episode 44: Our first ever interview, Boca on the brink and Racing finally lose

The forty-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Dan, Dan and Seba discussing the reasons for Boca Juniors’ title win, which will almost definitely happen this coming weekend since their win at Godoy Cruz took them nine points clear with nine to play for. Leandro ‘Vegetable’ Somoza is praised, Cristian Chávez and Pablo Mouche are criticised. Elsewhere, there was an entertaining match involving Racing, for a change, and they finally lost, 3-2 at home to Belgrano. Seba Verón scored possibly his last goal as Estudiantes beat Arsenal 2-1, and we praise Tigre for their great campaign so far. We also have a Hand Of Pod first – an interview with Emiliano Tade, a forward playing for Auckland City FC in New Zealand, who’ll be one of six Argentines featuring in the Club World Cup in Japan, which starts next week. Enjoy.

As usual, Mystic Dan’s predictions are below. You can click here to subscribe to us on iTunes.

Episode 29: Alejandro Sabella’s first Argentina squad(s), and the Apertura begins

The twenty-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod is, as the milkmaid said to the parson, quite a whopper. That’s largely because Sam, Australian Dan and Seba have not one but two rounds of Torneo Apertura matches to look back on, as well as River Plate’s historic debut in the Nacional B (second division). There’s more, though; before we can even get onto that, we’ve got – like those Apertura rounds – not one but two Argentina squads to discuss, with Alejandro Sabella having named both a full national team and a domestically-based side to take on Brazil. Carlos Tevez’s exclusion from the former, Juan Román Riquelme’s and Seba Verón’s inclusion in the latter, the new boys’ early performances in the Primera and the start of Vélez Sarsfield’s title defence; all this and much more is covered. And next week’s will be a more sensible length. We promise.

As usual, Mystic Dan’s predictions are below. You can subscribe to us on iTunes here, and please, if you’re resident or a citizen of the UK, sign the petition for the release of the Hillsborough files by clicking here.