The round of clásicos was by a long way the lowest-scoring weekend in an otherwise goal-packed championship, but there were some goals, including a superb free kick from Santiago García for Godoy Cruz against San Martín in the wine region derby, and two beauties for Lanús to beat Banfield in the Clásico del Sur. All of them... Continue Reading →
Primera 2016 preview: round 9
The ninth round of Primera action is almost upon us, and as ever I've previewed it for The Bubble. Defensa y Justicia v Arsenal de Sarandí might not be a proper clásico but it could well be an interesting match all the same, and there are plenty more fascinating match-ups elsewhere. You can read the full preview... Continue Reading →
Copa Libertadores 2012: Argentina’s challengers
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... Continue Reading →
The thirty-third episode of Hand Of Pod goes online just before the first leg of the double-header between Argentina's and Brazil's 'domestic international' teams, and Sam, Dan and Dan look at what Alejandro Sabella might reveal in these matches. We also speculate on how well former Oxford United boss Ramón Díaz will do in charge... Continue Reading →
Independiente win with a caretaker boss (video)
Wednesday night saw two big matches in Argentina: Independiente vs San Martín de San Juan, left over from the first round of the Torneo Apertura due to Independiente's pre-season trip to Japan, and Godoy Cruz vs Lanús in the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana qualifiers. The latter finished goalless, sending Godoy through on away... Continue Reading →
In the 23rd episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Dan, Seba and Dan return to guide our listeners into the closing rounds of the Torneo Clausura. We cover the Nigeria v Argentina match last week which is being investigated by FIFA, Sam suggests Daniel Passarella might like to sell his body to help fund River... Continue Reading →
Clausura: Vélez top with Lanús close behind after a riveting evening
Argentinos Juniors and Estudiantes de La Plata played out a dull 0-0 draw in La Paternal on Monday evening, but the best entertainment of the night was, fittingly, to come later, when all of the top three were in action in the remaining two matches of the 17th round of the 2011 Torneo Clausura. In... 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 →
Libertadores: Independiente win but they & Godoy Cruz both go out (video)
Both Argentine sides in Group 8 of the 2011 Copa Libertadores exited the competition on Tuesday night, after very different results. Seven-times winners and Copa Sudamericana champions Independiente - already all-but out, barring a miracle - visited Peñarol in Montevideo, who'd already qualified regardless of tonight's result, and with a largely reserve side recorded a... Continue Reading →
Libertadores: Godoy lose again to giants Peñarol (video)
Uruguayan giants Peñarol beat Godoy Cruz for the second time in their Copa Libertadores group on Wednesday night, 2-1 in Montevideo with goals from Juan Olivera and Andrés Frietas (Peñarol defender Darío Rodríguez's own goal was a temporary equaliser for Godoy). It's a result that leaves the Uruguayans on the verge of qualification, but complicates... Continue Reading →
Hasta El Gol Siempre 