More fútbol argentino than you can shake a mullet at
On Tuesday, Argentina continued their recent trend of bidding a pre-World Cup farewell to their fans with a friendly against opponents who, with no disrespect to Haiti, or to Canada in 2010 or Trinidad and Tobago in 2014, are not quite on the level of the opponents they'll face in the tournament. Did we learn... Continue Reading →
The Supercopa Argentina was played on Wednesday night, and for a change it was all but impossible for it not to feel like at least a bit of an occasion. That was because however pointless the trophy, the identities of the two clubs playing for it guaranteed that this would be a big (if not necessarily... Continue Reading →
Following his hat trick in a brilliant all-round forward display on Sunday, as Racing thrashed Huracán 4-0 in Avellaneda, Lautaro Martínez is hot stuff at the moment. Jorge Sampaoli was watching, and there's talk of a national team call up for next month's friendlies against Spain and Italy; transfer rumours in Europe, meanwhile, have reached... Continue Reading →
This week saw Jorge Sampaoli conclude a brief tour of some of Europe's biggest clubs, where he visited clubs whose squads include Argentina internationals. Also this week, Sampaoli started doing the same thing with clubs in Argentina. Wanting to leave nothing to chance, he wants to be informed about his players' daily training regimes. But... Continue Reading →
The Superliga continued on Friday with four matches, the most notable of which saw league leaders Boca Juniors take full advantage of San Lorenzo's loss on Friday to move six points clear with a 2-0 win over Colón. Prior to that, Newell's Old Boys left it late against Arsenal de Sarandí, and Gabriel Heinze's time... Continue Reading →
The blinds were lowered and the curtains drawn on Argentina's summer transfer window on Thursday night, and plenty of clubs were active right up to the last minute. As I outlined here a few days ago, some clubs (San Lorenzo especially) seem to be putting faith in the squads which got them through the first... Continue Reading →
Hand Of Pod, the internet's only English-language Argentine football podcast, is back from the summer break, and you can listen to it right here. Or for details of how to subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher or TuneIn, follow this link to the HOP blog.
The 2017-18 Superliga recommences on Wednesday, when Independiente host Rosario Central in a fixture postponed from the eleventh round of fixtures due to Independiente's involvement in the Copa Sudamericana final. So how have the clubs done in the transfer market and their pre-season friendlies? As I type this, I'm not much wiser about the answer... Continue Reading →
Over the next few years, like, not necessarily immediately. AFA president Claudio Tapia spoke to the press on Wednesday, and at least one of the things he said gave hope to those of us who've hoped for improvements to the Argentine league system for ages. What did he say, exactly? Well, most excitingly, he said... Continue Reading →
On Monday we finally heard when the 2017-18 top flight season in Argentina will kick off, under the auspices of the new Superliga. The first weekend of the championship will be the weekend of Sunday, 20th August, according to Olé, and initially the organisation will 'borrow' various services from the AFA, including the disciplinary tribunal and... Continue Reading →
