--- title: Argentine Soccer Team Takes Viagra Before a Match, Loses Anyway description: The drug was meant to help players adapt to playing at a high altitude canonical: https://time.com/3716283/viagra-soccer/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-20T17:24:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:34:28.079Z article:section: Sports og:title: Argentine Soccer Team Takes Viagra Before a Match, Loses Anyway og:description: The drug was meant to help players adapt to playing at a high altitude og:url: https://time.com/3716283/viagra-soccer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt853e9cb7ffb1fc5f/698780330b72e37dee6ddc76/club-atletico-river-plate.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: San Jose v River Plate - Copa Bridgestone Libertadores 2015 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Argentine Soccer Team Takes Viagra Before a Match, Loses Anyway twitter:description: The drug was meant to help players adapt to playing at a high altitude twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt853e9cb7ffb1fc5f/698780330b72e37dee6ddc76/club-atletico-river-plate.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Soccer Team Takes Viagra Before a Match, Loses Anyway > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 20, 2015 5:24 PM UTC  Rodrigo Mora of River (L) and Arnaldo Vera of San Jose (R) run for the ball during a match between San Jose and River Plate as part of group stage Copa Bridgestone Libertadores 2015 at Jesus Bermudez Stadium on February 19, 2015 in Oruro, Bolivia. Rodrigo Mora of River (L) and Arnaldo Vera of San Jose (R) run for the ball during a match between San Jose and River Plate as part of group stage Copa Bridgestone Libertadores 2015 at Jesus Bermudez Stadium on February 19, 2015 in Oruro, Bolivia.Javier Mamani/STR—LatinContent/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 20, 2015 5:24 PM UTC An Argentine soccer team tried to get ahead by taking Viagra for a match at high altitude. Unfortunately, they lost 2-0 anyway. Club Atletico River Plate decided to take a cocktail of Sildenafil (commercially known as Viagra), caffeine and aspirin in advance of a match in Bolivia, the [Washington _Post_ reports](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/02/19/argentine-soccer-team-takes-viagra-to-combat-altitude-sickness/). Research has shown that the anti-impotence drug helps boost circulation and deliver more oxygen to the muscles, allowing athletes to perform better at high altitudes. River Plate hails from Buenos Aires, where the elevation (about 82 feet) is fairly low, while their match against San Jose de Oruro in Bolivia took place at 12,400 feet. Still, even Viagra was not enough to help them, and they [lost their first group game](http://www.cariverplate.com.ar/gallardo-los-jugadores-hicieron-un-gran-esfuerzo-2/) of the Copa Libertadores de America. “The players finished very tired and angry, because they know they played a great match,” coach Marcello Gallardo said, [according to the club’s website](http://www.cariverplate.com.ar/gallardo-los-jugadores-hicieron-un-gran-esfuerzo-2/). “\[The team’s center back\] Pezzella is still sore.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3716283/viagra-soccer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3716283/viagra-soccer/"},"headline":"Soccer Team Takes Viagra Before a Match, Loses Anyway","datePublished":"2015-02-20T17:24:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:34:28.079Z","description":"They met stiff resistance","url":"https://time.com/3716283/viagra-soccer/","keywords":["Soccer","Argentina","Viagra"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt853e9cb7ffb1fc5f/698780330b72e37dee6ddc76/club-atletico-river-plate.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt853e9cb7ffb1fc5f/698780330b72e37dee6ddc76/club-atletico-river-plate.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"San Jose v River Plate - Copa Bridgestone Libertadores 2015","caption":"San Jose v River Plate - Copa Bridgestone Libertadores 2015","creditText":"Javier Mamani/STR—LatinContent/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/soccer/","name":"Soccer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3716283/viagra-soccer/","name":"Soccer Team Takes Viagra Before a Match, Loses Anyway"}}]}] ```