Full name Robert Ronald Almond Name Bobby Almond Role Football player | Years Team Height 1.79 m 1979–1982 New Zealand | |
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Date of birth (1952-04-16) 16 April 1952 (age 63) | ||
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 and a first team player for Walthamstow Avenue in the Isthmian League before he emigrated to New Zealand in 1973.
Almond made his New Zealand debut in a 1-0 win over Australia on 13 June 1979. He pulled on the All White strip a total of 49 times between 1978 and 1982, although only 28 were full A-internationals.
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. Almond retired from international football following their elimination.
Almond co-authored a book, To Spain the Hard Way, with Steve Sumner and Derrick Mansbridge, chronicling the experience.