Bobby Almond
Personal information
Full name Robert Ronald Almond
Date of birth (1952-04-16) 16 April 1952
Place of birth London, England
Position(s) Centre Back
Youth career
Leyton Orient
Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Walthamstow Avenue
Christchurch United
Invercargill Thistle
International career
1979–1982 New Zealand 28 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert 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 12 September 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 1 May 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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