Messi completes an unforgettable season with an Argentina hat trick to down Brazil 4-3 (video)

The curtain came down on the 2011-12 season for Argentina’s Europe-based players today, when they took on Brazil (or rather more accurately, Brazil’s likely Olympic Football Tournament team) in a friendly at New Meadowlands in New Jersey. The match was a veritable goalfest, and ended 4-3 to Argentina with Lionel Messi thoroughly overshadowing opposing forward Neymar, and finishing with his second Argentina hat trick, the second and third goals of which were just lovely. Federico Fernández scored Argentina’s third, whilst for Brazil the goalscorers were Romulo, Oscar and Hulk. You can watch all seven right here.

International friendly: Brazil 3 – 4 Argentina

This was Messi’s second international hat trick (the first was last year against Switzerland), and the first hat trick by an Argentine against Brazil since San Lorenzo legend José Sanfilippo scored three in a 4-1 win in the 1959 Campeonato Sudamericano in Ecuador (the competition now known as the Copa América). Alejandro Sabella’s Argentina still have a lot of improving to do, but having scored eight goals in their last two matches, there’s some hope that those who complain they don’t attack enough might shut up for a little while, at least.

You can follow the latest news from the selección and Argentina’s foreign legion of players, as well as the domestic championship, River Plate’s first second division campaign in over a century and the ever entertaining/tragic/infuriating capers of Julio Grondona & chums direct from Buenos Aires with HEGS on Twitter. If you’ve not signed up yet you can do so here. You can also join the official HEGS Facebook group, to keep up to date with the latest posts on the blog and discuss things with other fans. You’ll find it here. And remember to bookmark Hand Of Pod, our Argentine football podcast, or if you prefer you can subscribe to it on iTunes here.