Bobby Almond

Bobby Almond
Personal information
Full name Robert Ronald Almond
Date of birth (1952-04-16) 16 April 1952
Place of birth London, England
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Centre Back
Youth career
Leyton Orient
Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Walthamstow Avenue
Christchurch United
Invercargill Thistle
National team
1979–1982 New Zealand 28 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Robert "Bobby" Ronald Almond (born 16 April 1951 in England) was a footballer 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 and a first team player for Walthamstow Avenue in the Isthmian League 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 2 "Defender recalls NZ's greatest moment". Southland Times. 10 October 2009.
  2. 1 2 "A-International Lineups". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2009.
  3. 1 2 "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 15 June 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  5. ↑ Sumner, Steve; Bobby Almond (1982). Derrick Mansbridge, ed. To Spain - the Hard Way. ISBN 0-7233-0689-3.
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