Bobby Almond

Bobby Almond
Personal information
Full nameRobert Ronald Almond
Date of birth16 April 1951
Place of birthLondon, England
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 12 in)
Playing positionCentre Back
Youth career
Leyton Orient
Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
Christchurch United
Invercargill Thistle
National team
1979–1982New Zealand28(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Robert "Bobby" Ronald Almond (born 16 April 1951 in England) was an association football player who represented New Zealand and was part of the first New Zealand side to contest a FIFA World Cup in 1982.

Career

Almond was a part of the Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur youth set-ups before he emigrated to New Zealand in 1973.[1]

Almond made his New Zealand debut in a 1-0 win over Australia on 13 June 1979.[2] He pulled on the All White strip a total of 49 times between 1978 and 1982,[3] although only 28 were full A-internationals.[4]

He was a member the All Whites squad at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, playing in all 15 qualifiers, and started two games at the finals, the 5-2 loss to Scotland and 4-0 loss to Brazil, having to sit out the game against USSR with an Achilles tendon injury.[1][3] Almond retired from international football following their elimination.[2]

Almond co-authored a book, To Spain the Hard Way, with Steve Sumner and Derrick Mansbridge, chronicling the experience.[5]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Defender recalls NZ's greatest moment". Southland Times. 10 October 2009.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "A-International Lineups". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 2009-06-15. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "NZ 1982 World Cup". New Zealand Football. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  4. "A-International Appearances - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 2009-06-15. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  5. Sumner, Steve; Bobby Almond (1982). Derrick Mansbridge, ed. To Spain - the Hard Way. ISBN 0-7233-0689-3.

External references