The World Cup left us quite a few stories to talk about, but the one that involved the hosts surely stood out.
Unfortunately, their well-deserved reputation is currently under investigation by the Spanish Anti Doping Agency, as one of their outstanding footballers in summer's competition may have undergone an illegal medical procedure.
That man is none other than Denis Cheryshev. A late addition to Stanislav Cherchesov's squad, the former Real Madrid player was allegedly given a Human Growth Hormone injection to help him recover from an injury. Apparently, the Spanish agency got word of this via an interview by the player's father, Dmitri Cheryshev, where he revealed the kind of treatment his son went through before the World Cup.
A spokesman for the Spanish Anti Doping Agency revealed that given Dmitri Cheryshev's comments, the player will have to clarify his father's statements. The involvement of the Spanish agency was prompted due to the fact that Cheryshev plays for Valencia, and used to play for Villarreal last season.
"We can confirm we have started an investigation to find out more information about the case. The investigation is being carried out with the co-operation of Russia's anti-doping agency and is in contact with the World Anti-Doping Agency," a spokesman for the Spanish agency told the Mirror.
Even if things seem to be getting tougher by the minute for the footballer, Valencia's director Mateu Alemany seems to trust his player's word, especially because he passed all anti-doping tests prior to the World Cup.
"We haven't been notified about what has been published. If the player was involved in an investigation then they (the agency) should have told the club and the player," Alemany said.
In fact, Alemany said that someone might have gotten lost in translation, mixing up what Cheryshev's father really meant.
"We have had no communication in any form, he was subject to controls at Villarreal and at the World Cup. After reading everything, I think it's an error in the transcription, because growth factors are not the same as growth hormones," Alemany added.
Cheryshev had a scintillating World Cup for Russia, scoring four goals for the hosts in the competition. His performance earned him a new deal with Valencia, after some people believed he was destined to watch the competition on his TV set.
