Episode 285: River shock Boca to win the Supercopa (that almost rhymes …)

The two hundred and eighty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam and Andrés look back over a weekend of Superliga action that, erm, neither of them managed to catch an awful lot of. Among the bits they did see were last minute wins for Boca Juniors and River Plate, and an entertaining game between Independiente and Argentinos Juniors which saw El Rojo cement third place in the Superliga. There’s also discussion of Wednesday night’s Supercopa Argentina, which saw River turn in their best performance of the last six months or so to spring a surprise, beating Boca 2-0 to lift the trophy. The prize itself isn’t of huge importance, of course, but the repercussions for both clubs’ seasons could be – most notably, could this be the springboard for a revival in River’s fortunes?

You can follow HOP in various ways. We have a Facebook page, for example, and we’re on Twitter as well. You can subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher or TuneIn.

Last week, Mystic Sam beat Mystic Liam 10-6. This time out, Mystic Nate steps up to take a beating (yes, Sam’s getting cocky …)

Mystic Nate
Central v Chacarita
Colón v Lanús
Argentinos v Newell’s
Temperley v Huracán
San Martín v Gimnasia
Talleres v Defensa y Justicia
Racing v Patronato
Arsenal v Vélez
River v Belgrano
Atl. Tucumán v Boca
Banfield v Unión
Tigre v Independiente

Mystic Sam
Central v Chacarita
Colón v Lanús
Argentinos v Newell’s
Temperley v Huracán
San Martín v Gimnasia
Talleres v Defensa y Justicia
Racing v Patronato
Arsenal v Vélez
River v Belgrano
Atl. Tucumán v Boca
Banfield v Unión
Tigre v Independiente

Episode 233: Estudiantes open up a lead, Boca and River both stumble

In the two hundred and thirty-third episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Remi and Tony discuss a weekend of action which saw Estudiantes take a two-point lead ahead of River Plate at the top of the table, thanks to a 2-0 win over Atlético Tucumán before River were held at home to San Martín. Boca Juniors also dropped points, and questions marks once again hang over the team, while Atlético de Rafaela picked up a shock win over Gimnasia (who’d started the weekend joint top with River and Estudiantes) which might prove crucial come the end of the season in the relegation battle.

You can subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher, and follow us on Twitter.

Mystic Chris’s round four predictions (last week Mystic Bob got 6/15)
Olimpo v Godoy Cruz
Atlético de Rafaela v Central
Newell’s v Atlético Tucuman
Vélez v Racing
Independiente v Tigre
Huracán v Sarmiento
Unión v Belgrano
Estudiantes v Temperley
Patronato v San Lorenzo
Talleres v Banfield
Lanús v Aldosivi
Boca v Quilmes
Defensa y Justicia v River
Arsenal v Gimnasia
San Martín v Colón

Episode 216: Reviewing the superclásico and an awful lot of goals elsewhere

The two hundred and sixteenth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Andrés and Fede look back on a rather underwhelming superclásico which nonetheless gave us plenty to talk about – largely because we’ve now seen Guillermo Barros Schelotto in charge of Boca Juniors for a week (they play away to Bolívar in the altitude of La Paz in the Copa Libertadores tonight). If River v Boca was one of the lowlights of the weekend, though, there was plenty of entertainment elsewhere: previously winless Tigre hitting five past hitherto impressive Atlético Tucumán; nine goals in a crazy match in Santa Fe between Unión and Racing; Defensa y Justicia winning 5-1 away to Argentinos Juniors and many more goals besides. All this and more in just an hour and a quarter. Enjoy!

You can subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher, and follow us on Twitter.

Mystic Harry’s seventh round predictions (last week Mystic Chris got 5/15)
Racing v Lanús
Newell’s v Atlético de Rafaela
Olimpo v Belgrano
DyJ v Huracán
Banfield v Independiente
San Martín v Tigre
San Lorenzo v Arsenal
Temperley v Argentinos
Patronato v Central
Estudiantes v Gimnasia
Atlético Tucumán v Aldosivi
Colón v River
Sarmiento v Godoy Cruz
Boca v Unión
Vélez v Quilmes

Episode 215: Boca Juniors change managers ahead of superclásico and more

The two hundred and fifteenth episode of Hand Of Pod is a bumper one, as we’ve got a major talking point this week. Sam, Andrés and Boca Juniors fans Fede and Fran discuss Boca’s decision on Monday to sack Rodolfo Arruabarrena and replace him on Tuesday with Guillermo Barros Schelotto as manager. Is this the change in direction the club needs? Can the new manager handle Carlos Tevez’s influence on team affairs without upsetting anyone? And most importantly, with a Copa Libertadores game against Racing tonight (Thursday) and a visit to River Plate on Sunday, how quick an impact can GBS have? Aside from Boca, we also look back on a weekend which saw yet another great performance from Rosario Central, a second consecutive clean sheet for River and more impressive stuff from Atlético Tucumán.

You can subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher, and follow us on Twitter.

Mystic Chris Hartley’s predictions (last week Mystic Roberto got 5/15)
Belgrano v Sarmiento
Arsenal v Vélez
Gimnasia v San Lorenzo
Independiente v Colón
Godoy Cruz v Patronato
Quilmes v Olimpo
Central v Banfield
Argentinos v Defensa y Justica
Tigre v Atlético Tucuman
Unión v Racing
Lanús v Newell’s Old Boys
Aldosivi v Temperley
Atlético de Rafaela v San Martín
Huracán v Estudiantes
River v Boca

Episode 124: Racing aren’t crap any more, River very much are, and more

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!

You’ll find Mystic Sam’s predictions just below, and don’t forget you can subscribe to us on iTunes.

Mystic Sam’s fifteenth round predictions
Rafaela v Godoy Cruz
Olimpo v Quilmes
All Boys v Gimnasia
Estudiantes v Central
Newell’s v San Lorenzo
Belgrano v Colón
Racing v Argentinos
Boca v Tigre
Vélez v River
Lanús v Arsenal

Episode 98: Lanús cling on at top, San Lorenzo goalie arrested for part in murder conspiracy & more

In the ninety-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and English Dan are introduced by World Cup final referee Horacio Elizondo, and joined by guest star Archie Whitworth for a bumper edition – there’s a lot to get through. We discuss the thrillers and fine goals scored during a weekend which left Lanús’ lead atop the Torneo Final cut to just one point over Newell’s Old Boys, question just how bad Independiente striker Juan Caicedo can get, and spend a good length of time talking about San Lorenzo goalkeeper Pablo Migliore, who was arrested after his side’s defeat to Newell’s on Sunday for his part in harbouring a friend suspected of murder. We answer listeners’ questions and talk about River Plate’s injury problems in defence and how they’ve affected the team’s building forward, and much more. Enjoy.

As ever, you can subscribe to HOP on iTunes by clicking here.

Episode 94: Unión ruin Riquelme’s comeback, San Lorenzo beat River & Lanús still lead

The ninety-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, English Dan and Joel reunited after a few weeks, to discuss a goal-filled weekend which saw San Lorenzo beat River Plate in the clásico, Lanús claim a point away to Dan’s Racing which took them top of the table, and Boca Juniors hilariously crash and burn at home to Unión on the day of Juan Román Riquelme’s comeback. There were two 3-3 draws, a policeman hitting a player in the face with a baton (and then reporting the player for assault!), and the announcement that Gerardo Martino won’t be staying on as Newell’s Old Boys boss at the end of the season – will Marcelo Bielsa be returning to replace him? The very thought has got us all excited…

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to us on iTunes by clicking here.

Episode 88: Vélez are crowned champions, Díaz is unveiled at River Plate & more

The eighty-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod is the last one of 2012, and sees Sam, Dan and Joel analysing Vélez Sarsfield’s 2012 Torneo Inicial title win, which was confirmed on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Unión de Santa Fe whilst nearest challengers Lanús lost 1-0 away to River Plate. The roles of manager Ricardo Gareca and forward Facundo Ferreyra are discussed, as well as some of Vélez’s other crucial players during the campaign. We also talk about Ramón Díaz’s welcome back to River, whether any current Primera managers are future contenders for the national team job, and look back at San Lorenzo’s 2-1 win over Independiente in the weekend’s big relegation clash.

Don’t forget you can click here to subscribe to us on iTunes, and follow our Twitter musings here.

Episode 85: HOP turns 2 years old, some international talk, and crowd trouble at Independiente

The eighty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod sees us turn two years old, and to celebrate the fact that we’re still here we recorded in Seba’s very plush office. We discuss the likelihood of Juan Román Riquelme returning to action for Boca Juniors in the new year, and some of the local league action – but not much, since we were recording part way through the midweek round of matches – and the Argentine national team’s drab performance away to Saudi Arabia hours before we recorded. During our listeners’ Q&A session, crowd trouble caused Independiente v Belgrano to be abandoned, and we have some ‘as live’ coverage of that. Thrilling stuff as ever. Thanks for listening for the last two years, and here’s to two more…

What with the midweek round, there’s no Mystic Sam this week, but don’t forget you can click here to subscribe to us on iTunes, and follow our Twitter musings here.