River Plate Take Viagra Before Match to Combat High Bolivian Altitudes

As Anderson taught us earlier this week, playing in Bolivia's lofty heights is no joke. 

Notoriously one of the trickiest places to play because of its high altitudes, those who aren't accustomed to the rare air have struggled. Mighty Argentina fell to the Bolivians 6-1 when they couldn't cope with the conditions in 2009.

River Plate visited Oruro (over 12,000 feet above sea level) to face San Jose in the Copa Libertadores and tried a rather unique method to combat their disadvantage at the Estadio Jesus Bermudez. 

Viagra. Yes, the get-you-up stuff for those who struggle with that very problem. It's not something typically associated with a football match. 

Per Project Babb, a member of the medical staff explained, "Viagra will stimulate the circulation of oxygen in the blood and help footballers breathe better." 

Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't—River Plate fell 2-0. 

Depending on your sense of humour, River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo's choice of words was either hilarious or unfortunate in his description of the defeat. 

[Project Babb]