Argentina side will take Viagra before playing match at high altitude

According to the club's doctor, the best remedy to combat the altitude sickness that they might face, will be to stock up on Sildenafil (Viagra) before the match. ‘El Rojo’ will travel to El Campín after losing the home leg 1-0 in the quarter finals of the cup, and will have a tough time bouncing back.

Independiente realise that the higher altitudes could cause problems for their players, so are looking for measures that will increase the oxygen supply to the blood - a popular remedy for this is to use Viagra. 

This was confirmed by the team doctor Luis Charadia, during his medical program ‘Independiente de América’, that will be put in place before the match in Colombia. “Bogotá is 2,600 meters above sea level. We will counteract the effects of altitude sickness by using Sidenafil (Viagra) prior to the start of the competition and during the day of the match,” the doctor explained.

It’s not even the first time that a club from Argentina has used Viagra before an official match. River Plate decided to take Viagra before their match against San José de Oruro where they were playing at 3,735 meters above sea level.

The River Plate team doctor also tried to give a medical explanation: “Viagra is taken because it stimulates the circulation of oxygen around the blood and increases the facility to respire; the objective is simple, to increase oxygenation that would otherwise be lost playing at higher altitudes like in Oruro”

Even though it has been legally accepted, the Global Doping Agency is looking very seriously into the case for its use, and could soon be put on the list of prohibited substances. Legal or not, the administration of drugs, is at the very least incredibly controversial.

Independiente will arrive at Cali this Tuesday, just a few hours before the match. The Argentina side will also have play without supporters as they were given a sanction for using flares against Olympia in the last-16 match.