HEGS exclusive: England’s Arsenal want Racing’s Yacob at season’s end

Posted on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 by

Now that the January transfer window has closed in England, I’ve been given the go-ahead to report, exclusive to HEGS, that a few days ago a representative of Arsenal’s scouting team in London enquired about offering a contract to Claudio Yacob of Racing Club here in Buenos Aires. Yacob’s contract with Racing expires in June, and if Arsenal’s interest grows during the rest of the season he could be an inexpensive addition to the midfield of a club who have seemed averse to spending big in the transfer market.

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Posted in Argentine league, Racing Club, Transfers | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Argentines Abroad: Messi hits three, Lamela key again, Aimar scores a cracker & more (videos)

Posted on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 by

It’s been another action-packed round of matches around the world, with Argentines once again providing no shortage of highlights. Step this way for the latest on Lionel Messi’s fine weekend performance and some impressive contributions in Italy, Spain, France, Portugal and Mexico from his inevitably less talented compatriots.

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Posted in Erik Lamela, Goal videos, Gonzalo Higuaín, José Sand, Lionel Messi, Lisandro López, Pablo Aimar | Tagged ,

Copa Libertadores 2012: Argentina’s challengers

Posted on Tuesday, 24 January 2012 by

Tuesday night sees Arsenal de Sarandí get the ball rolling in the first match of the 2012 Copa Libertadores, which is being played as this post goes online because I hadn’t realised it kicked off so early in the evening. I’m still in summer holiday mode, you know. Aside from Arsenal in the qualifiers, Argentina will be represented in the group stage by the two winners of the domestic league in 2011 – Vélez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors – and by the two next-best teams in Argentina during 2011, Lanús and Godoy Cruz. It’s a welcome return to the continent’s top table for Boca, and Godoy Cruz’s second appearance in a row, having never qualified for the Libertadores until last year’s edition. Here, I attempt to give a brief rundown of each side’s chances.

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Posted in Copa Libertadores, Season preview, Transfers | Tagged , , , , ,

Argentines Abroad: Another Messi double and more

Posted on Thursday, 19 January 2012 by

Another weekend passed some time ago now, and illness during the week combined with the recording of a couple of Hand Of Pod specials is the reason this post is going up late, but we’ve news of Lionel Messi’s return to goalscoring form in Spain, a Mauro Formica goal for Blackburn in England, and Diego Milito’s derby winner in Milan among much more here. Read on.

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Posted in Argentines abroad, Diego Simeone, Goal videos, Results | Tagged , , , , ,

Argentines Abroad: 2012 is upon us

Posted on Wednesday, 11 January 2012 by

Football has well and truly restarted in earnest after the new year festivities now, and with  action in Spain, Portugal, Italy, England and Mexico to report on Argentines Abroad is back – as is HEGS for that matter! Happy new year, everyone. There’s not much to say about Lionel Messi’s Ballon d’Or win that you can’t read elsewhere, so as usual my correspondents and I will be sticking to what’s gone on on the pitch over the weekend just gone. Step this way…

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Posted in Angel Di María, Diego Milito, Diego Simeone, Goal videos, Javier Zanetti, Jonás Gutiérrez, Results | Tagged , ,

I’ve just got in from celebrating Christmas with a friend, on the night of the 24th December as is tradition in Argentina. And as usual, I’d like to wish HEGS readers old and new a very Merry Christmas, if you celebrate it. I hope you have a wonderful one.

Merry Christmas to all

Posted on Sunday, 25 December 2011 by

Copa Argentina 2011-2012: the competition so far

Posted on Saturday, 17 December 2011 by

It’s been relatively unheralded here on HEGS so far, but Hand Of Pod listeners will be aware that there’s a new competition in Argentine football this season which is well underway. The Copa Argentina is the AFA’s first attempt at a regular knockout competition since the 1970 edition – the second – was abandoned at the semi-final stage. Knockout rounds were played by teams from every province in Argentina and, last month, clubs from the top two divisions – the Primera and the Nacional B – entered the fray. The few remaining matches from the last 64 won’t be played until February, so here I’ll recap who’s left in the tournament so far, and some of the main shocks.

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Posted in Copa Argentina, Domestic, Lower leagues, Primera A, Results | Tagged , , | 2 Comments