Hand Of Pod

This week Sam, English Dan, Andrés and Santi B look back on a weekend of Torneo Clausura games that saw Boca Juniors and River Plate both claim 1–0 wins over Avellaneda opponents ahead of their clash in the Bombonera this Sunday. Elsewhere, various teams confirmed their playoff spots and the AFA have decided on a change of format for next year's top flight, to everyone's amazement.

This week Sam, English Dan, Santi B and Andrés look back on the clásico de Avellaneda and the rest of last weekend's Torneo Clausura action before reviewing the semifinals of the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores, which saw first Boca Juniors and then Estudiantes de La Plata advance in the Maracanã.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés discuss the beginning of the end game in the 2026 Torneo Clausura group stage, with Estudiantes de Río Cuarto's relegation confirming that we're reaching the business end. The continental semifinals are also well underway.

This week Sam, Andrés, Chris and English Dan look back on Argentina's farewell to Lionel Messi, as he scored his 126th goal in his 208th – and last – match for the national team in a 3–0 win over Benin. What signs has this international break given us for the future of the national team? Why are the AFA so bad at organising things? And what happened last weekend in the top flight?

Sam, English Dan, Chris, Santi B and Andrés met this week to discuss the movers and shakers in the group stage of the 2026 Torneo Clausura group stage, because most of the way in it's now finally worth discussing who might and might not make the cut for the next stage. Elsewhere, Estudiantes de La Plata are through to the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores, and off the pitch River Plate have returned to executive committee meetings at the AFA, where they have some proposals that sound eminently sensible (and, as a result, absolutely will not be accepted).

This week Sam, Chris, Andrés and English Dan do something Dan would rather not do, and discuss Racing's recent form. The group stage standings are starting to look meaningful now, and while they're not mathematically out of it, it seems unlikely Racing will be involved in the knockout stage. We also have a look at the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertadores quarterfinals, which have concluded since we recorded with Estudiantes reaching the semis, where they'll face Flamengo. If you enjoy the pod and would like more, you can get extra episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/handofpod

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés discuss a second win in a row for Leonardo Ponzio's River Plate, an entertaining draw between Gimnasia de Mendoza and Boca Juniors and defeat for Racing at home to Atlético Tucumán. We also cover the correct ways to refer to Atlético Tucumán and Independiente Rivadavia (de Mendoza) and have a look at some of the continental games and Copa Argentina action this week and more besides.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris, Santi B and Santi S discuss a piece of news that in normal circumstances would be the biggest of our week – Eduardo Coudet's sacking as River Plate manager – before turning our attention to the main event: Lionel Messi's retirement from the Argentina national team after 207 matches, 125 goals, two Copas América and that glorious 2022 World Cup.

This week's episode was recorded on Wednesday, before Eduardo Coudet was sacked as River Plate manager the day after they went out of the Copa Sudamericana. Sam, English Dan and Santi B review last weekend's action, which included River throwing away a 2–0 lead to draw at home to Vélez Sarsfield in what turned out to be Coudet's penultimate match. We also hear from Santi about what's going wrong at Independiente this time.

This week Sam, English Dan, Chris and Andrés review last weekend's Liga Profesional action, which saw River Plate finally win a match – 2–0 against in-form Argentinos Juniors, no less. Boca Juniors cruised through their Copa Sudamericana tie and Argentine champions Belgrano got a good win over Independiente Rivadavia. All this and much more right here!