The best of dog pitch invaders

We pay tribute to some of the best four-legged pitch invaders–pooch invaders?–there have ever been, with the top shots of canines taking to the soccer field all across the world.

SI Staff | Aug 26, 2016

The best of dog pitch invaders /

The best of dog pitch invaders

An eager pup goes for the ball at a 2012 League Cup match between Everton and Leyton Orient at Goodison Park.

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Daniel Ahmed, coach of Sporting Cristal, shouts instructions to his left winger and left back, who clearly aren't on the same page in this match between Leon de Huanuco and Sporting Cristal at Heraclio Tapia Leon Stadium on July 29, 2015 in Huanuco, Peru.

Who's the main attraction here? A dog runs on the field during the match between Corinthians and Coritiba at Arena Corinthians on November 1, 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Clearly, this is just a very appreciative fan of the refereeing at a match between Palermo and Sampdoria at Stadio Renzo Barbera on August 31, 2014 in Palermo, Italy.

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Though the referee missed the call, this certainly looks like excessive use of the hands–though it goes both ways–in this match between Rosario Central and River Plate in Argentina at Gigante de Arroyito Stadium on February 16, 2014.

After finally being caught, this pitch invader during a Rosario Central and River Plate match in Argentina is escorted off the field at Gigante de Arroyito Stadium on February 16, 2014.

Copa Sudamericana fans were treated to this epic display of agility and elusiveness when Colombia's Santa Fe and Brazil's Botafogo, played at Nemesio Camacho "El Campin" stadium in Bogota, Colombia, on October 25, 2011.

Ukraine employs an interesting warm-up routine with this stray pooch prior to a friendly vs. Italy in Kiev on March 29, 2011.

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Despite what it looks like, this dog was not the referee of a Women's 2. Bundesliga match between VfL Sindelfingen and FV Loechgau at on May 9, 2010 in Sindelfingen, Germany.

Germany and Greece players are greeted during their UEFA U-21 European championship qualification match in Athens in 2001.

Players of Venezuela's Deportivo Tachira try to catch a dog that entered the field during their Copa Libertadores match against Mexico's Pumas in San Cristobal, Venezuela in April 2016.

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This dog takes a lap during a Group B match at Copa America 2011 in Cuidad de La Plata Stadium in Argentina.

Mexico and Ecuador players stop to figure out who gets the extra-player advantage when a dog takes to the field in their 2004 Copa America Group B game in Piura, Peru.

A dog runs onto the pitch to chase the ball prior to the start of a Sunday League football match on the Hackney Marshes pitches in London in January, 2010.

The first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana quarterfinals was not without the four-legged appearance of an excited pooch to take part in the clash between San Lorenzo and Palestino October 20, 2016, in Buenos Aires.

Felix Araujo of Chiapas doesn't get very far trying to get this eager pitch invader to "sit" in a match against Pachuca on January 14, 2017 at Hidalgo Stadium.

Who needs children to accompany players onto the field? Brazil's Sao Paulo FC opts for four-legged mascots before a September 2015 match against Palmeiras.

This very good dog does a very poor job of toeing the offside line in Colombia's World Cup qualifying match vs. Brazil in September 2017.

Published Aug 26, 2016

SI STAFF