The semi-finals of the 2011 Copa América are now over, and Uruguay and Paraguay will be the sides competing for the title in the Estadio Monumental on Sunday. In this article for ESPNSoccernet, I take a look back over the semis, and salute the contribution to the tournament given to the two losing semi-finalists, Peru... Continue Reading →
As kick off edges closer, now only just over three hours away, there's another preview of the Copa América by me; this time focussing more on the Argentine national team and how they're likely to line up, as well as a few of the issues surrounding the side. It's over on the excellent In Bed... Continue Reading →
As all readers will surely be aware, tonight at 21:45 Argentine time Bolivia will play the 700th international match in their history. Of arguably just as much importance, they'll be taking on the hosts, Argentina, in the opening match of the 43rd edition of football's oldest international tournament, the Copa América. I won't be at... Continue Reading →
There's only one topic for this week's Hand Of Pod, and we make no apologies for that. Dan, Dan, Seba and River fan Sam try to make some sense of what none of us quite thought would come to pass: the news that River Plate endured the worst day in their 110-year history on Saturday,... Continue Reading →
In the 24th episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Dan and Dan discuss Vélez's title win on Sunday, and offer their commiserations to Lanús. Sam gives an impromptu history lesson about Alumni, the first side to dominate the Argentine top flight, English Dan tells us about an amazing comeback from Godoy Cruz away to Racing,... Continue Reading →
In a special edition of Hand Of Pod, Sam and the Dans are joined by Ralph Hannah, an English expert on Paraguayan football who was kind enough to drop in on us when visiting Buenos Aires with his wife for the weekend from Asunción. We discuss Paraguay's chances in the forthcoming Copa América, who the... Continue Reading →
We had difficulty shutting up this week. A full 45 minutes of actually quite good stuff (if we say so ourselves) was cut, and the podcast still comes in at over an hour. Diego Maradona is the focus of much of the early part, his ongoing wars of words with AFA president Julio Grondona and... Continue Reading →
For the 20th episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Dan, Dan and Seba welcome special guest Asli Pelit to the show. Asli's a Turkish TV presenter who was at La Bombonera to see Boca Juniors beat River Plate 2-0 in Sunday's superclásico, and as well as giving us her impressions of that game, she also... Continue Reading →
On Monday, Diario Libre reported, in their first ever edition, that River Plate playmaker Erik Lamela had been bought by a management group, and is to be sold on to a European club at the end of the season (possibly Juventus). I've written a profile of Lamela, and a bit on why River haven't had much... Continue Reading →
Those who are already avid readers of world football website In Bed With Maradona will probably have noticed that it's relaunched this week, and I'm pleased to say that relaunch has prompted to contribute something for them again. It's an article on just why I love the Copa Libertadores group stages so much, and you'll find... Continue Reading →
Hasta El Gol Siempre 