This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés look back on a weekend that saw plenty of goals in the Liga Profesional, including a first domestic home defeat of the year for San Lorenzo and a 3–3 draw in Rosario. We also review Argentina's agonising 1–0 defeat to Italy in their opening match of the Women's World Cup (followed up with a 2–2 draw against South Africa shortly after we recorded this episode) and Lionel Messi's first couple of appearances for Inter Miami (or what we've seen of them, which isn't much).

Episode 469: plenty of league goals, and Argentina's women lose their World Cup opener

River Plate have been crowned champions of Argentina again, and this week Sam, Andrés and English Dan look at the key players in their campaign and reflect on a good start to life as a first-team manager for Martín Demichelis (hours before Talleres put River out of the Copa Argentina). We also look forward to the Women's World Cup kicking off and discuss the financial sustainability (or otherwise) of Argentine football clubs.

Episode 468: ¡River campeón!

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés can't quite give you the confirmation that River Plate have won the title, but Martín Demichelis's men are now nine points clear with nine to play for, so it doesn't seem like it'll be much longer. We also discuss Lionel Messi's first day at Inter Miami, the Copa Sudamericana playoffs beginning and more.

Episode 467: River edge closer and the Sudamericana playoffs begin

(This week's episode is a little delayed being uploaded, but while River Plate have played since we recorded, they're still not champions yet: they drew with San Lorenzo on Saturday, meaning they'll only take the title if Talleres lose on Monday.) In this episode Sam, Andrés and Dan discuss them reaching the brink of the title, Racing continuing to disappoint (and bidding farewell to Paolo Guerrero) and much more.

Episode 466: River on the brink of the title

This week's HOP is a little different from normal, because Sam and Tony met up on Thursday to interview Club León and Argentina midfielder Sophia Braun ahead of the Women's World Cup. After that, on Friday, Sam went to Dan's place, and the two of them reviewed last week's action in the league (the main results since then before this pod went online were that River lost and Talleres were held to a draw on Saturday, cutting River's lead to 9 points) and the closing matches of the group stages in the Copas Libertadores and Sudamericana.

Episode 465: We interview Sophia Braun, and the Libertadores groups come to an end

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés look at a week of Liga Profesional action which saw River Plate maintain the gap at the top even as Talleres leapfrogged San Lorenzo into second. Elsewhere, Uruguay claimed the Under-20 World Cup, beating Italy in the final in La Plata, and Lionel Messi scored his 103rd international goal – and the earliest goal of his career – and Alejandro Garnacho made his international debut as Argentina beat Australia 2–0 in a friendly in Beijing.

Episode 464: Relegation goalposts moving, and Argentina beat Australia

This week Sam and English Dan round up last week's league action (including tragic news from the Monumental) and the midweek Libertadores and Sudamericana results, and have a chat about Lionel Messi's move to Inter Miami. Will it extend his international career? When will he make his debut? And will we down here actually be able to watch any of his matches? All these questions and more are answered. Or at least speculated over.

Episode 463: Lionel Messi packs his bags for Miami

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés look back on a weekend that saw River Plate held to a draw that still allowed them to extend their lead at the top of the league thanks to a shock defeat for San Lorenzo earlier in the round. Boca Juniors actually played well for once, Argentina (and England) are out of the Under-20 World Cup ... but most importantly of all, José Sand broke his own record as the oldest player to score in Argentina's top flight through a stoppage time penalty for Lanús against Independiente at the age of 42 years, 10 months and 10 days.

Episode 462: José Sand extends his record

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés look back on a couple of weeks of action during which San Lorenzo have closed the gap slightly on River Plate at the top of the table, River's prospects in the Copa Libertadores aren't looking good, and the Under-20 World Cup has begun ... and Argentina aren't awful.

Episode 461: San Lorenzo close the gap and the Under-20 World Cup is underway

This week Sam, English Dan and Andrés look back on last weekend's superclásico, which ended in a 1–0 win for River Plate after a stoppage time penalty Boca Juniors weren't happy about. Dan has cause to lament Racing's recent form, we update you on Independiente's influencer-led fundraiser and more.

Episode 460: Late superclásico fighting and Racing in a slump

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Hand Of Pod

In the three-hundred-and-thirty-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Andrés look back on a weekend of Superliga action which saw Racing crowned champions of Argentina in spite of late goals for both Tigre and Defensa y Justicia. They also look at what's left in the final weekend of the campaign coming up: the relegation battle, the race to finish in the Copa Sudamericana spots, and whether Boca Junors can leapfrog Defensa to claim second place.

Episode 332: ¡Racing campeón!

In the three hundred and forty-second episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Andrés discuss Argentina's fantastic Women's World Cup showing against Japan, where they claimed their first ever point at an official World Cup (and Sam tells you why the word 'official' appears in that sentence), and we look forward to Argentina's clash with England on Friday and, regarding a national team we're less optimistic about (namely the men's one), we preview the Copa América, which kicks off with Brazil v Bolivia on Friday night. Argentina's first game is on Saturday, against Colombia.

Episode 342: A historic result at the Women's World Cup, and previewing the Copa América

The two hundred and forty-third episode of Hand Of Pod couldn't be solely about Argentine football, given events earlier in the week. Sam, Andrés and guest Lex meet up to discuss some of the Argentine reaction to the tragic plane crash on Monday night, with tributes planned across Argentina - and the rest of the continent - this weekend. There's also a look at a surprisingly entertaining clásico de Avellaneda, a very good performance from Boca Juniors and a rather fortunate win for River Plate, as well as Estudiantes' first defeat of the season, among much more.

Episode 243: The Argentine response to the Chapecoense crash, and some less important stuff

In the three hundred and forty-third episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on a draw for the women's national team which (combined with results on Thursday) saw them eliminated from the Women's World Cup, and a draw for the men's national team which leaves them still in the Copa América (just) – but there are a lot more positives for the women than for the men.

Episode 343: Two Argentina draws, two very different feelings

Hand Of Pod is back after Sam's holiday, and in this week's episode, English Dan, Andrés and Tony fill him in on what's been happening while he was away, including a review of River Plate's late collapse in the Copa Libertadores final, why Diego Maradona resigned and then unresigned as Gimnasia manager, and the main talking points ahead of Boca Juniors' presidential election on Sunday.

Episode 365: Getting up to date on the last couple of weeks

This Saturday, the first ever single-match final of South America's biggest club competition will be played, as holders River Plate take on Brazilian giants Flamengo in Lima's Estadio Monumental. In this week's Hand Of Pod – recorded last Thursday, because Sam is away on holiday – Sam and Andrés take you through both sides' route to the final, and consider what might happen on Saturday afternoon.

Episode 364: Previewing the 2019 Copa Libertadores final

In the two hundred and ninety-first episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Julián get together over a mate and some biscuits to discuss a weekend of Superliga action in which Boca Juniors saw the title race swing decisively their way (surely this time, this is it?) after Godoy Cruz were held by Banfield. Elsewhere, River Plate are now so good that even their reserves can win at a canter ... although it was only against Arsenal de Sarandí, so maybe not. Racing won the clásico coudetense, Defensa y Justicia shocked Independiente in the clásico holandés (I wish I'd thought that name up to tweet during the match) and the race for the last Copa Libertadores spots, and all of the Copa Sudamericana spots, is as tight as ever. Oh, and we're now finally live on Patreon! Please check out our page and consider supporting us: www.patreon.com/handofpod

In the two hundred and ninety-first episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Julián get together over a mate and some biscuits to discuss a weekend of Superliga action in which Boca Juniors saw the title race swing decisively their way (surely this time, this is it?) after Godoy Cruz were held by Banfield. Elsewhere, River Plate are now so good that even their reserves can win at a canter ... although it was only against Arsenal de Sarandí, so maybe not. Racing won the clásico coudetense, Defensa y Justicia shocked Independiente in the clásico holandés (I wish I'd thought that name up to tweet during the match) and the race for the last Copa Libertadores spots, and all of the Copa Sudamericana spots, is as tight as ever. Oh, and we're now finally live on Patreon! Please check out our page and consider supporting us: <a href="http://www.patreon.com/handofpod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.patreon.com/handofpod</a>

Episode 291: Godoy Cruz slip up to (almost) hand Boca the title, and a good week for Racing

In the three hundred and forty-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on Argentina's elimination at the hands of Brazil in the semi-finals of the Copa América, and consider a Copa campaign during which there were (in our opinion) more positives than negatives, in terms of team building.

Episode 345: Taking some positives from Copa América elimination

In this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Tony are again joined by special guests Phil and Jamie to discuss a weekend in which victories for River Plate, Boca Juniors and Lanús combined with a draw for Argentinos Juniors to leave four teams separated by just a point at the top of the table. As well as this, Colón take on Independiente Del Valle in the Copa Sudamericana final on Saturday, and on that same day Estudiantes open their new stadium – although with a party rather than a match, because they host Talleres in the municipal stadium on Friday night.

Episode 362: The title race tightens up, and Estudiantes' new stadium is close

The two hundred and ninety-ninth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by English Dan and Andrés to look back on a faltering start to the World Cup group stage for Argentina, who drew 1-1 with Iceland on Saturday. What changes is Jorge Sampaoli making? What changes should he make? And how much scope for improvement is there, really? Perhaps foolishly, we're remaining optimistic about the Croatia game, which we'll review in HOP300 on Friday.

Episode 299: Reviewing Argentina v Iceland and previewing Argentina v Croatia

This week in the Hand Of Pod studio, Sam, English Dan and Andrés are joined by two very special guests: Phil Carney, who runs the Lanús in English Twitter account, and Jamie Ralph, who runs the Newell's in English account, are both visiting Argentina for a couple of weeks, and came in to say hello. With them, we review a midweek round of Superliga action which saw Argentinos Juniors go clear at the top of the table, and River Plate go third – with Lanús, whose win over Boca Juniors was watched by Phil, and helped both of those clubs to climb the table, sitting between them. Jamie's first trip to the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa didn't go quite as well: Newell's were tonked by Diego Maradona's Gimnasia, who might be allowing themselves to dream of survival after all ...

Episode 361: A visit from two special guests as Argentinos go clear at the top and River go third

In the penultimate HOP of 2019, Sam, English Dan, Tony and Andrés review a round of Superliga action – the last before the summer break – in which most of the title hopefuls dropped points, not for the first time.

Episode 366: No one wants to win the title

On this week's Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés look back on the Copa Libertadores semi-final second legs, reviewing River Plate's progression in spite of defeat against Boca Juniors and Flamengo's crushing win over Grêmio. They ask whether the final will be as one sided as this week's two matches appear to suggest. And Mystic Sam predicts not one but two rounds of the Superliga.

Episode 360: Reviewing the Libertadores semi-finals

In the three hundred and forty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Julian meet to preview the new Superliga season. Which clubs have had the best transfer windows? Which are in most trouble in the relegation battle? These and more questions are answered here. And our sponsors at Fanatiz are back! Head to www.fntz.co/hop and use the discount code hopfz to enjoy the new season wherever you are.

In the three hundred and forty-seventh episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, Andrés and Julian meet to preview the new Superliga season. Which clubs have had the best transfer windows? Which are in most trouble in the relegation battle? These and more questions are answered here. And our sponsors at Fanatiz are back! Head to <a href="http://www.fntz.co/hop" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.fntz.co/hop</a> and use the discount code hopfz to enjoy the new season wherever you are.

Episode 347: Previewing the 2019–20 Superliga

In the three hundred and forty-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam and Andrés meet to discuss the last bits of the Copa América – particularly relating to Argentina's campaign, and their third-place playoff win over Chile and Lionel Messi's bizarre sending off for getting in the way of Gary Medel's shoulders. We also lay the groundwork for the 2019–20 domestic season, with news of the structure of the top two divisions, and a name change for the latter.

Episode 346: reviewing the Copa América, and setting the stage for the new season

The three hundred and twenty-fourth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by English Dan, Andrés and Tony to discuss a low-scoring weekend of Superliga action in which the title race remained much the same (Racing and Defensa y Justicia both won), Saturday was about as exciting as we told you last week it was going to be, and Patronato got their second win in a row (and fourth of the season). We also discuss Argentina's Sudamericano Sub 20 performances, and answer listeners' questions.

Episode 324: a low-scoring weekend, and Argentina's Sudamericano Sub 20 progress

The two hundred and ninety-fifth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by Andrés and Julián to discuss Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad, and the chaos introduced to it by Tuesday's news that first-choice goalkeeper Sergio Romero would miss the tournament with injury. Should Willy Caballero or Franco Armani be Romero's replacement? In the outfield positions, are there any players missing who should be there, or any who are there who shouldn't be? And what should we make of Jorge Sampaoli's stated desire to play a 2-3-3-2 if possible? Which players would that involve – both for Sampaoli, and if one of us were the manager? All these questions and far more are up for discussion.

Episode 295: Argentina's World Cup squad, including Sergio Romero's injury

The two hundred and ninetieth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam joined by Peter and Andrés to look back on a weekend of Superliga action in which the remaining three relegation spots were all decided, and the title race one last breath of life given to it thanks to Godoy Cruz's sixth consecutive win and Boca Juniors' second consecutive defeat. River Plate's efficient form continues, and we look at why Vélez Sarsfield have become so much harder to beat under Gabriel Heinze, even though they're still winning barely any matches.

Episode 290: the relegation race is settled, but is the title race back on ... again?

In the three hundred and twenty-sixth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Andrés discuss an interesting weekend of action which saw Tigre win their first game under Néstor Gorosito, and victories for both of the top two (Racing and Defensa y Justicia), who remain neck and neck with six games to go and that tantalising clash between them in the Cilindro on the final weekend. River were held and Boca Juniors won and then lost, and we announce the lucky winner of the six-month free Fanatiz subscription prize draw.

Episode 326: Still neck and neck at the top, and previewing the Avellaneda clásico

In the three hundred and fortieth episode of Hand Of Pod, Sam, English Dan and Andrés discuss the semi-final seconds legs of the Copa Superliga, and look forward to Sunday's final between Tigre and Boca Juniors. Also, there's a look at the Copa América squad and how the kids are doing in the U-20 World Cup.

Episode 340: Previewing the Copa Superliga final

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