Football world cup final

It has been 57 years since Pickles the dog rescued England’s World Cup dream by finding the stolen Jules Rimet Trophy.

The unlikely hero’s discovery came after the trophy had been stolen from a public exhibition just a few months before the 1966 World Cup was due to get underway in England. Pickles’ heroics made him a superstar in the UK and he is not the last pooch to be made famous by football in the years since.

Here, Daily Star Sport looks at the stories of Pickles and six other dogs who have rose to stardom in the world of football.

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Pickles the dog

Despite a middleman being arrested after the Jules Rimet Trophy was stolen in March 1966, the missing silverware was still yet to be located a week on from the theft.

That was until Pickles stepped up as he sniffed around a neighbour’s car, with his owner David Corbett recalling in 2016: “There was a package by the front wheel. It was very tightly wrapped – the IRA was in action in those days and I thought to myself ‘was it a bomb?’

“So I picked it up. Put it down. Picked it up, put it down again. I tore a little bit off the bottom and saw a shield. I recognised it straight away and thought ‘This is it!'”

Corbett was initially treated as a suspect before being cleared of any wrongdoing once the trophy had been identified as the real thing. As for Pickles, he was presented with a cash prize for finding the treasure and was photographed posing with a football.

Relegation saviour

Back in May 1987, Torquay United found themselves on the brink of relegation from the Football League as they trailed Crewe Alexandra on the final day of the season.

With Torquay’s desperate attempts to find an equaliser to keep them up appearing to be in vain, right-back Jim McNichol was bitten by a police dog who thought he was attacking his handler.

In the time added on for McNichol receiving treatment, Torquay equalised and secured their place in the Fourth Division for the following season.

Fluminense superfan

Brazilians are known for their passionate support and their pets are no different.

One Fluminense fan’s dog recently went viral after being caught on camera watching the club play on television. The excited pooch could be seen wearing the club’s home shirt as it lay at the foot of a bed watching the match.

After Fluminense scored, the dog excitedly jumped in the air before running round in circles in celebration.

Touching tribute

Unlike the other dogs on this list, one footballer’s pet instead rose to fame after tragically passing away last year.

The player emotionally celebrated scoring for their club by ripping off his jersey to reveal a t-shirt baring an image of his recently-deceased dog.

As his team-mates gathered around him, the player then ushered them away so that the cameras at the side of the pitch could get a good view of the photo. Visibly emotional, he also lifted the shirt up to kiss the photo as he gazed to the sky.

P***taking pooch

Not all of football’s famous dogs have made their mark by saving the day, with one pooch doing the opposite last summer.

A non-league friendly between Yorkshire clubs Ilkley Town and Thackley back in July had to be paused after a dog bounded onto the pitch to relieve themselves during the match.

The dog ran around the pitch before heading to the corner flag to take a “p***”, much to the amusement of the players and those watching on the sidelines.

World Cup guard dog

After his penalty shootout antics helped Argentina win a third World Cup in December, Emiliano Martinez was quick to ensure his winners medal would be well-protected.

The Aston Villa goalkeeper forked out £20,000 on a Belgian Malinois guard dog to protect his medal after returning to the Midlands following the tournament.

Belgian Malinois’ can weigh up to 30kgs and have been deployed by the SAS and US Navy Seals in the past, with Martinez having his pet pooch specially trained to guard his home from invaders.

Club mascots

In addition to pet pooches and pitch invaders, football’s famous dogs also include a string of club mascots to have graced stadiums from the Premier League to League Two.

Huddersfield Town’s Terry the Terrier was the subject of controversy in 2018 after being pictured looking glum during a match against Watford, having been told to sit down to avoid obstructing the view of supporters.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City mascot Beau Brummie was involved in a kidnapping scare in 2012, only for it to turn out the mascot was instead taking a break until the club started spending money.

Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers, Newport County and Dagenham & Redbridge also have dogs as their official club mascots.

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Roy Keane finally enters the action in Daily Star’s World Cup of S***houses as the ex- Manchester United star looks to make it a double.

Keane was our back-to-back winner in our World Cup of Pundits and is among the favourites in the new tournament – though faces some fierce competition from some true s***houses.

You know the type – those that pull, pinch, time waste and use every trick in the book to wind up the opposition and win games. We absolutely love them.

In fact, we love it so much, that we thought a true champion needs to be crowned and came up with our very own World Cup of S***houses. But who wins? You decide…

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We have shortlisted 32 names and split them into four randomly-drawn groups. With Groups A and B now done and dusted, we move on to Group C with the top two progressing to the semi-finals.

You get only one pick, so choose wisely!

Roy Keane

With a s***house legacy that has far surpassed his playing career, Roy Keane is a worthy contender to go the distance in Daily Star’s World Cup of Football S***houses.

From his brutal payback tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland that was years in the making to mocking the voice of Harry Maguire while on Sky Sports punditry back in 2021, Keane never holds his punches.

Now settled into the punditry game after stepping away from management – Premier League players will no doubt hope to avoid his wrath for years to come.

Pepe

Real Madrid icon Pepe has picked up a total of 14 red cards during his playing career – with a 2009 sending off providing a truly memorable meltdown.

The central defender first shoved over Javi Casquero before grabbing his opponent by the head, proceeding to stand on his rival twice for good measure.

Pepe then struck Juan Albin in the face before being handed a 10-match ban in true s***house style. Also known for rattling his opponents, Pepe found the time to slam Morocco’s time-wasting after the World Cup in December.

Diego Godin

Another central defender who would do anything to lead his team to victory Diego Godin was a master of the dark arts during his time under Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid .

The Uruguay veteran has never been afraid to tussle with opponents using elbows and shoulders in a bid to assert his physical dominance – and is a master of doing so without the officials seeing.

His ability to find the net from set-pieces only strengthened the fury Godin would bring out of his opponents, with his departure from Europe a big loss to the s***house community.

Jamie Vardy

Jamie Vardy in his pomp would laugh his way through Premier League fixtures on his way to scoring a hugely impressive 134 goals in the competition for Leicester.

Having celebrated against Wolves by doing his best howl and doing a dancing eagle impression after netting against Crystal Palace, Vardy is truly a leading s***house.

The former England man is never happier than when winding up opposition fanbases dating back to his Championship days – and is right among the contenders for Daily Star’s World Cup of Football S***houses.

Robin Friday

The late former Reading and Cardiff City forward Robin Friday left some legacy in the game – despite retiring at the age of 25 and passing away just 13 years later.

Friday was known for unsettling opponents and a rather poor disciplinary record – once booting Mark Lawrenson in the face during a fixture.

As well as his spoiling tactics, Friday was hailed for his footballing intelligence as well as physical and mental strength – and is firmly a cult hero.

Martin Keown

The image of Martin Keown screaming in the face of Ruud van Nistelrooy is quite possibly the most recognisable striker vs defender clash in Premier League history.

Arsenal’s Keown was not only delighted but seemingly delirious after Van Nistelrooy missed a Manchester United spot-kick, getting up close and personal for good measure.

Although additionally known for his crunching tackles with six Premier League red cards, it will be that penalty reaction that has Keown in contention for Daily Star’s World Cup of Football S***houses glory.

Claudio Gentile

A Juventus and Italy icon, Claudio Gentile was an uncompromising defender who made his name as a man-marker who was not shy of aggressive challenges.

Often placed on polls of the hardest players in football history, Gentile was smart enough to limit his red cards to one across his career which no doubt wound up the opposition even more.

Gentile said in 2021: “A defender has to be strong. That’s something very different to being dirty and going in to do harm. A defender is a defender, not a dancer.”

Scott Brown

Scott Brown is synonymous with the Celtic success of the past two decades, leading his side to glory through his leadership as well as physical and mental strength.

Brown loved nothing more than winding up opposition players and fans during his time at Parkhead, notably getting Alfredo Morelos sent off in a 2019 Old Firm derby.

If that fixture needed to sum up his style in ore detail, he casques a mass brawl after scuffling with Ryan Kent, with Celtic of course going on to win.

VOTE HERE NOW!

Voting for Group D of the Daily Star World Cup of S***houses will end on Sunday April 2.

You only get to vote for one player, so choose wisely!

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KYLIAN MBAPPE has told admirers of one of his French teammates that they would be getting a “very complete” striker if they were to sign him.

Speculation is mounting over the £105m-rated Randal Kolo Muani who is enjoying a brilliant season in Germany.

His goalscoring ability has not gone unnoticed either with the 24-year-old on the radar of Manchester United alongside Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen as they prepare to land a top quality striker in the summer.

And new France captain Mbappe , arguably the best player in the world, was happy to offer his take on the Eintracht Frankfurt forward.

Speaking after their 4-0 win over Holland at the weekend, the PSG star said: “He is a striker who offers different game options to our team. He is very complete and has an impressive volume of play.

“We are happy with the game he played on Friday.”

Kolo Muani did not hit the net in the victory but impressed with another dynamic, all-action display.

The striker has only made seven appearances for France and has just one goal to his name, but it was in the World Cup semi-final to help seal the win against Morocco back in December.

Kolo Muani can expect more football at international level in the coming years with Karim Benzema retiring from France duty in the days following Les Bleus’ World Cup Final defeat .

Meanwhile, the country’s all-time top scorer Olivier Giroud is 36 and likely won’t be leading the line in the 2026 World Cup.

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The future is also exciting at club level for Kolo Muani.

Man United have been repeatedly linked to the striker in their bid to find a long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.

And the interest could be mutual with the Frenchman dropping a huge hint earlier this month that he is open to a move away from Frankfurt.

He said of his future: “We talk about it a lot already, but I try to be focused on my club.

“We continue our performances and we will see this summer. Afterwards, I always dreamed of playing in big clubs.”

Kolo Muani has 11 goals and 10 assists in the Bundesliga this season.

Unseen footage of Lionel Messi and Wout Weghorst’s spat at the World Cup has surfaced online – showing what actually happened between the pair.

On his way to conquering the world, Messi & co clashed with the Netherlands in the quarter-finals in Qatar. And it was a Wout Weghorst brace that pulled back a two-goal lead late in the game at the Lusail Stadium.

However, tensions reached boiling point during the penalty shoot-out, with Denzel Dumfries even sent off after penalties. And it led to Messi yelling, in his post-match interview: “What are you looking at, idiot? Go over there!”

READ MORE: Lionel Messi in explosive spat mid-interview shortly after clashing with Louis van Gaal

Initially, the identity of whom Messi was yelling at was unknown, but a recent video has now revealed it was Manchester United loanee – who was then still at Besiktas – Weghorst.

Footage shows Weghost waiting in the mixed zone, when he catches the eye of Messi mid-interview. Messi then makes his way back to the dressing room, where Weghorst offers him a handshake, only to be snubbed by the Argentine.

What do you think of Lionel Messi’s actions in the video? Let us know in the comments section

Weghorst then fumes to Laurtrao Martinez: “I was waiting for him and wanted to give him a hand. And he’s doing that? That’s disrespectful.” The Dutchman is then pushed away by future team-mate Lisandro Martinez.

Weghorst had been the shock hero of the Netherlands that evening – and his brace almost ended Messi’s World Cup dreams.

Messi, speaking about the incident in January, revealed he wasn’t too happy with himself for his actions: “I don’t like this picture.

“I don’t like what I did. There was a lot of tension and it came out naturally. A lot had happened with this player and two others during the match. It came out naturally. I don’t like this image.”

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Aussie comedian Adam Hills isn’t joking when he says the Premier League needs to get itself a Grand Final.

TV star Hills, a massive rugby league fan, has been leading Channel 4 ’s coverage of the Betfred Super League this season. It’s the first time the competition has been shown on free-to-air television in its 26-year history. The coverage, largely on Saturday lunchtimes, has been a big hit.

And the latest live game to be shown in their 10-match deal is Sunday’s battle between champions St Helens and Castleford. Super League’s play-offs series is fast approaching and Channel 4 will show one of those every Saturday as the race for Old Trafford hots up. Hull KR, Leeds and Hull are all currently on the outside of the top-six but still have burning ambitions to make it with six games remaining.

And Hills, who plays PDRL for Warrington and will represent Australia at this autumn’s World Cup, admits he loves this time of year. He said: “I can’t get my head around the Premier League. It just gets to the end and it’s like ‘well, you’re in front, you’ve won.’

“At the risk of sounding overly northern, ‘I love a Grand Final, me!’ I grew up in Australia with the concept of the Grand Final being the biggest match of the year. Everyone wants to make it. Watching the Premier League, I always end up thinking ‘there’s no Grand Final!’ I don’t understand it.”

Admittedly, some rugby league fans would prefer to go back to the old first-past-the-post system like football. But the Old Trafford Grand Final – which takes place on September 24 – has grown and grown since its inception in 1998. Leaders Saints, who have lost winger Regan Grace to a season-ending ruptured Achilles, are hotly-tipped to make it four titles in a row.

But Sunday’s huge shock 44-12 loss at Salford has reminded everyone what could happen yet. Hills added: “That’s what you want at the end of the Super League season – not being sure who’s going to end up where.

“I was talking to our producer about the next couple of games we’re covering for Channel 4.

“I want to explain to viewers how the finals series works. Because if you know Premier League – or don’t know Super League that well – you don’t know how it’s going to work.

“This week we’ve St Helens v Cas and then next week we’ve Salford against Huddersfield. All of them are in the top-six so I want to explain that where they finish in that top-six depends on whether they get home advantage when they get to the play-offs.

“It is tight particularly with Salford – who are sixth – beating Saints on Sunday.

“It’s a cliche but genuinely anything can happen from here.”

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