Off the Ball's animal house

Off the Ball, the uefa.com's weekly look at the lighter side of football, directs its patented sideways glance at everything from Bixente Lizarazu aiming for the winter Olympic luge finals to Sophia Loren breaking her promise to "do a striptease" if SSC Napoli were promoted. But nothing lifts this column more than cute tales of animals involved in soccer – you probably only clicked on this link because of the adorable photo. So here is the pick of our 2007 stories related to our invariably furry friends.

Lambing season
Among the shepherds watching their flocks tonight is Joško Bralić, who on top of his lamb-related duties is sponsor of Croatian third division side NK Zagora, which had an unexpected consequence for defender Ivica Šupe. By May, Šupe had racked up 16 strikes for the season and was the unexpected beneficiary of Bralić pledge to reward every defender who scored with a sheep for every goal. Šupe said: "It was a surprise, I just don't know where I will keep them." A club spokesman added: "We were delighted when Mr Bralić offered to support us with sheep."

Dog of a year
Luckily, Bralić did not agree a summer move to Scottish Premier League side Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC. Long-standing manager Charlie Christie was expecting to again be voted the Highland region's personality of the year but was beaten by Jean, a five-year-old sheepdog. The canine custodian saved 42 consecutive penalties in a charity event and his owner Bruce McGregor said: "It was amazing when we heard the result. I reckon Charlie would have been flabbergasted when he found out he lost, but I'm sure he would have taken it in good spirits."

Boxers ring
Ironically, former FC Bayern München and Belgium goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff is the token human in a canine challenge involving eight boxer dogs trained by a Romanian artist to play football in the current Antwerp Winter Circus (maybe the Scottish-based Jean was not available). "A circus is something that takes me back to the heyday of my youth," Pfaff said. "Now I will be the artist myself. Who knows, this could mean the start of a whole new career for me."

Horse play
Dogs are not the only animal that can be trained to play football (insert reference to hard-tackling midfielder of your choice here). Kariba is the star pupil in Emma Massingale’s horse training school Natural Equine in Bradworthy, England, but the stallion was sold by his previous owners due to his erratic behaviour. But then Massingale had a brainwave that changed everything. "I'm not interested in football myself," Massingale said. "But I looked at the players and thought, 'My horse could do that'. We started by leading him to the ball with a rope and I rewarded him with a pat if he touched or kicked it. If you leave him in the pen with a football he is happy there for hours kicking and heading it about on his own." Meanwhile, Kariba’s feats are matched in Thailand, where the annual Elephant Festival in Surin plays host to a football tournament involving 250 jumbos, giving displays of the soccer skills that have made them famous.