Hand Of Pod

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés discuss a second win in a row for Leonardo Ponzio's River Plate, an entertaining draw between Gimnasia de Mendoza and Boca Juniors and defeat for Racing at home to Atlético Tucumán. We also cover the correct ways to refer to Atlético Tucumán and Independiente Rivadavia (de Mendoza) and have a look at some of the continental games and Copa Argentina action this week and more besides.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris, Santi B and Santi S discuss a piece of news that in normal circumstances would be the biggest of our week – Eduardo Coudet's sacking as River Plate manager – before turning our attention to the main event: Lionel Messi's retirement from the Argentina national team after 207 matches, 125 goals, two Copas América and that glorious 2022 World Cup.

This week's episode was recorded on Wednesday, before Eduardo Coudet was sacked as River Plate manager the day after they went out of the Copa Sudamericana. Sam, English Dan and Santi B review last weekend's action, which included River throwing away a 2–0 lead to draw at home to Vélez Sarsfield in what turned out to be Coudet's penultimate match. We also hear from Santi about what's going wrong at Independiente this time.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés review last weekend's Liga Profesional action, which saw River Plate finally win a match – 2–0 against in-form Argentinos Juniors, no less. Boca Juniors cruised through their Copa Sudamericana tie and Argentine champions Belgrano got a good win over Independiente Rivadavia. All this and much more right here!

This week Sam, Andrés, Chris and English Dan look at yet another defeat for River Plate, whose boss Eduardo Coudet is under a lot of pressure now. This weekend River play Argentinos Juniors, and that doesn't look good for Coudet because Argentinos are in fine form. Huracán beat San Lorenzo in the clásico, and the knockout stages of the Copas Sudamericana and Libertadores are well underway.

The Torneo Clausura 2026 is well underway and this week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés meet to ask what on earth is going on at River Plate, who've lost five (competitive) games in a row for the first time since 1911(!) thanks in part to a sporting director who's also being blamed for the current mess at Olympique Marseille. They're not the only team in the top flight, though, so we also round up the main takeaways from the first three rounds of action.

This week Sam, Chris, Andrés and Santi B look back on the 2026 World Cup final, and the tournament as a whole. Just what were Argentina trying to do on Sunday, and why didn't it work? Why did they struggle to get going all through the tournament? And as the nation looks to the next chapter for the national team, what changes are around the corner for Lionel Scaloni, Lionel Messi and the rest?

Argentina are in another World Cup final, and here Sam, Chris, Andrés and special guest Rob Adcock review their semifinal win over England and preview Sunday's final against Spain in Not New York.

Saturday saw Argentina beat Switzerland and England beat Norway to set up a potential World Cup semifinal for the ages. Sam, Chris, Andrés and Santi B review the nervy extra time victory over Switzerland and preview Argentina v England.

This week Sam, Chris, Andrés and Julián sit down to attempt to analyse Argentina's advancement to the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup, which came courtesy of an impossibly nervy 3–2 win over Cape Verde that was followed by a 3–2 win over Egypt that somehow managed to be even more impossibly nervy.

We're back! Sam, Chris, Andrés and Santi S review Argentina's near-perfect start to their attempt to defend the World Cup title, after they got nine points from three matches and conceded just once in group J. We ask whether Lionel Messi is any good at football (he might be), look at the defence and midfield and run the rule over the other CONMEBOL representatives.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris, Andrés and Santi B discuss a clásico mendocino that didn't go as expected for the first twenty seconds, but went very much to form thereafter as Independiente Rivadavia ran out 5–1 winners over Gimnasia de Mendoza. Boca Juniors also got a four-goal winning margin, while Riestra and River Plate both won by a couple. The playoff qualifiers aren't quite decided as we go into the last weekend of group stage action, but this is the final episode of the Torneo Apertura for us, because Sam's mate didn't consult Sam before deciding when to get married. We'll be back when the World Cup is underway ... unless you'd like to join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/handofpod

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi S look at last week's league results and the midweek continental matches, both of which brought positive results for River Plate and Boca Juniors ahead of Sunday's superclásico. It was also a great week for Independiente Rivadavia.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Santi S and Santi B discuss half a round of Torneo Apertura action that saw Independiente scrape a win over Racing in the clásico and – we hope you're sitting down for this – Newell's Old Boys win a second league game in a row. We also go over the action from the opening week of Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana group stage matches.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Santi B and Santi S look back on Argentina's two friendly wins in the Bombonera over Mauritania and Zambia. We discuss how encouraging or discouraging the performances were, which players have done themselves favours (or done themselves no favours at all) in terms of getting into the squad for the World Cup and who we think will ultimately make the cut. We also take a look at the current standings in the Torneo Apertura group stage and preview Saturday's Avellaneda clásico.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi S get together to discuss a round of Apertura action that saw both Lanús and Defensa y Justicia hit five goals (not against each other), Coudet's River claim another win and Independiente Rivadavia get back to winning ways. We also give our reactions to the Copa Sudamericana group stage, which took place while we were recording the second half. If you enjoy the pod and would like more (including, this week, our reaction to the Libertadores draw that was taking too long for us to include it on the main episode), you can get extra episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/handofpod

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés look back on a midweek round of action that began with a wild draw in Avellaneda between Independiente and Unión, continued with a dull one in Junín between Sarmiento and Racing and ended (from our point of view recording before Estudiantes de La Plata v Lanús) with Eduardo Coudet winning his first match in charge of River Plate. All this and more awaits you ...

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés discuss a draw for River Plate in their last match prior to Eduardo Coudet's arrival as head coach, a good win for Racing and some cracking goals in Parque Patricios, but the main topic is a ridiculously dramatic week in the life of AFA President Claudio Tapia.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris, Santi B and special guest Joey D'Urso look back on (almost) two whole rounds of Torneo Apertura action, which saw Marcelo Gallardo step down as River Plate manager, signing off with a 3–1 win over Banfield, Independiente Rivadavia continue their excellent start to the season and Independiente (de Avellaneda) have a torrid week in Mendoza (not for the first time). As well as all that, Lanús followed up last week's home win with an away win after extra time over Flamengo to claim the Recopa Sudamericana.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés look at River Plate's highly dignified win over Ciudad Bolívar in the Copa Argentina, a very dull La Plata derby that ended in Gimnasia's first draw in 22 matches and continued good league starts for Tigre and Independiente among others.

This week Sam and English Dan review a couple of matches for some teams but just the one for most of them. It's been a poor week for River Plate, where Marcelo Gallardo is coming under pressure, but a great one for Tigre , who've made a flying start to the year. We also look at Racing's inconsistency, Boca Juniors' consistent inconsistency and more.

This week Sam, Santi B and Andrés cast their eyes over the first three rounds of league action in the 2026 Torneo Apertura, which have seen consistency (if nothing else) from Independiente, early group leads for Lanús and Independiente Rivadavia, and Juan Fernando Quintero playing like it's 2015 again for River Plate.

We're back for 2026, and this week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Santi B and Santi S look back over the summer break and the main transfer moves in Argentina and look forward to 2026 in Argentine football, including discussing whether anyone should really care about the league this year.

This week Sam, Chris, Andrés, Santi B and special guest Andrés Gurrieri, who did NOT used to play for Exeter, meet up to discuss Estudiantes de La Plata's penalty shootout win over Racing in a less-than-classic Torneo Clausura final in Santiago del Estero. We also have a bit of news from San Lorenzo (for a lot more detail, and plenty more content besides, get over to our Patreon: https://patreon.com/handofpod) and the AFA as we head into the summer break. We hope you all have a good time whatever you're celebrating at this time of year, and we'll be back in your ears in mid-January.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Chris and both Santis review two rather boring Torneo Clausura semifinals which saw Estudiantes and Racing advance to Saturday's final. We also look at the draw for next year's group stage and try to explain why the AFA and various clubs have had their offices raided by investigators.

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés review last weekend's Torneo Clausura quarterfinals and look forward to Sunday and Monday's semis, which see an all-Big Five clash in the Bombonera between Boca Juniors and Racing and a clásico platense between Gimnasia and Estudiantes. There's also news of a thumping win for Argentina's women's team in the CONMEBOL Liga de Naciones (whose name also contains the totally unnecessary word 'Femenina') and listeners' questions (and our answers to them).

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi B review the first round of the Torneo Clausura playoffs, which saw ... um, champions? ... Rosario Central knocked out by Estudiantes following a controversial guard of 'honour' that broke a rule that didn't actually exist and has now seen Estudiantes president Seba Verón and several of their players suspended. Elsewhere, Racing are through after a wonderfully flawed win over River Plate, Boca Juniors saw off Talleres and there was plenty more besides.

We're back! Sam has been away for a while, so in this episode English Dan, Chris, Andrés and Santi B catch him up on what he's missed, which includes River Plate and Independiente not being very good, Boca Juniors and Racing being rather better, San Martín and Godoy Cruz being relegated and Rosario Central being awarded a championship no one knew was being contested. So nothing out of the ordinary for Argentine football ...

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés unpack the scenes in Avellaneda on Wednesday night, which saw the second half of Independiente v Universidad de Chile in the Copa Sudamericana abandoned after violence from both barra bravas in the stands. In the continent's other cup the news was much better for Argentina's representatives, who make up four of the last eight. And we have one last look at the group stage of the Torneo Clausura. We'll be back in November for the knockout stage of the league and a Copa Libertadores final that will hopefully feature at least one Argentine team.

This week Sam and English Dan have the studio to themselves, and sit down for a chat about a round of league action that, mercifully, saw more goals than the previous one. The big story of the week was off the pitch, as Racing signed Marcos Rojo, much to many fans' annoyance, and it then emerged that he's ineligible to play in the league until next year.

No league action last weekend means the focus for Sam, English Dan and Andrés is on reviewing the Copa Argentina this week. We have a bunch of matches from the round of sixteen and – because this is the Copa Argentina – one from the round of thirty-two to go over. There's also a brief update on how Argentina fared in the Copa América Femenina (get over to our Patreon for far more detail with Tony) and listeners' questions. Check us out on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/handofpod

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés have only 13 goals in 15 matches to look back on from the third round of the Torneo Clausura – and even that total is only thanks to eight being scored in Monday's three matches. River Plate's 100% start has come to an end, Miguel Ángel Russo is under a lot of pressure at Boca Juniors and there's plenty more to discuss as well.

This week Sam, English Dan, Santi S and Andrés review the second round of games in the Torneo Clausura, which saw Ángel Di María score another penalty (that's six in six matches for him now) to get the first win since his return to Rosario Central, River Plate convincingly beat Instituto to already become the only team with a 100% record and Leandro Paredes claim an assist on his second debut for Boca Juniors.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi S meet to review the first round of action in the 2025 Torneo Clausura, which saw champions Platense concede three times in one game for the first time this year, not one but two injury-time winners (sort of) in the Cilindro and a less brilliant than anticipated clash of the Juniors as Argentinos and Boca ground out a stalemate.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Santi S and Santi B get together to preview the 2025 Torneo Clausura, which kicked off a few hours before we recorded but will be going on for the next few months. Who's had a good transfer window? Who's appointed Carlos Tevez as their manager to replace their previous manager, who didn't take charge for a single game? And most important of all: who will be the next champions of Argentina?

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and both Santis (for the first time!) review the group-stage exits of River Plate and Boca Juniors from the Club World Cup, and answer some listeners' questions.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi Bauzá review Argentina's two World Cup qualifiers – a win away to Chile and a draw at home to Colombia – and cast our eyes over the other games in the campaign as well, with Brazil and Ecuador confirming their places at next year's tournament and Chile eliminated. We also discuss Franco Mastantuono's transfer to Real Madrid and answer listeners' questions.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Remi and Marcus look back on the final of the Torneo Apertura, which saw Platense crowned champions of Argentina for the first time in their history thanks to a 1–0 win over Huracán in Santiago del Estero in front of a frankly underwhelming number of fans. Remi is a Platense season ticket holder, so gives us his take on their campaign, and we also have updates including a new (old) manager at Boca Juniors, some absolute ridiculousness in Rosario and the small matter of the national team playing two World Cup qualifiers before we next record.

This week on HOP Sam, English Dan, Santi Sourigues and special guest Marcus Haydon review the semifinals of the Liga Profesional Torneo Apertura, which saw Huracán squeeze out Independiente on penalties and Platense get a 1–0 win over San Lorenzo to set up a final in which either El Globo will win their first title in over fifty years or El Calamar will win their first ever. We also take a look at the domestic players likely to be added to the Argentina squad and the last week of Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana group stage action.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi Sourigues look back on the quarterfinals of the Liga Profesional's Torneo Apertura and forward to this weekend's semifinals. Whoever ends up taking the title now it'll be the end of a length title drought, and for one of the remaining teams it would be their first top-flight title ever.

Sam, English Dan, Santi and Andrés have a bumper episode this week, in which we review the eight matches from last weekend's Liga Profesional round of sixteen and preview the quarterfinals, which run from Sunday to Tuesday. We also cast our eyes over the midweek continental action and let you know who Lionel Scaloni's called up from the foreign legion for Argentina's next two World Cup qualifiers.

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés finally have some meaningful football to look forward to, and here we review the final weekend of group stage action in the Liga Profesional de Fútbol Torneo Apertura 2025, and take a look at this weekend's last sixteen fixtures. We also look at how Argentina's representatives in the Copas Sudamericana and Libertadores got on.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris, Andrés and special guest Santi Sourigues review last weekend's action, and in particular Sunday's superclásico, in which Franco Mastantuono was imperious – and scored an astonishing free kick – for River Plate. Boca Juniors manager Fernando Gago became former Boca Juniors manager Fernando Gago after the game, so we also ask what's next for them.

River Plate host Boca Juniors on Sunday afternoon, and if you stick around long enough in this episode Sam, English Dan and Andrés eventually remember to preview it. Before that we look back on last weekend's Liga Profesional action – which saw River finally score some goals – review the week's continental results and bid a brief farewell to the most footballing pope ever.

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés review last weekend's Liga Profesional action, which saw Boca Juniors confirm their place in the knockout stage and Racing move into the qualification spots for the first time since (we think) the second round of matches.

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés look back on a weekend of action that saw big wins for Racing and Argentinos Juniors, more frustration for River Plate and Boca get right back to winning ways – why is Fernando Gago supposedly in trouble, again? As well as this, on Tuesday night Argentina's women's national team got a historic result, beating Canada 1–0 in a friendly.

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés, Santi and Fer review a weekend that saw mixed results for all our teams, including Guillermo Barros Schelotto's first defeat – and first victory – as Vélez Sarsfield manager. The group stages of the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores are underway, and we have plenty of listeners' questions (including a couple Sam forgot last week).

This week's HOP is a long one, but not without reason: Sam, English Dan, Santi, Chris and special guest former professional footballer Andrés Gurrieri review Argentina's World Cup 2026 qualification and, more to the point, the 4–1 battering they handed out to Brazil right after their place in next year's tournament was confirmed. We also have some talk about the few domestic matches that have been played during the international break, Andrés tells us a bit about his career, and there are some listeners' questions.

This week Sam, English Dan, Santi and Andrés review a clásico de Avellaneda that saw the spoils shared and a disappointing result for River Plate, among other league games, before turning our attention to Argentina's two upcoming World Cup qualifiers away to Uruguay on Friday and at home to Brazil on Tuesday. Will the world champions seal their spot before we next record?

This week Sam, English Dan, Santi, Andrés and Chris look back on a weekend of action that saw the two Avellaneda sides get contrasting results ahead of their big derby this weekend. River Plate actually managed to impress Andrés for once (even though their finishing was awful) and Fernando Gago managed to keep his job at Boca Juniors for another week.