Cliff Almond (soccer)
Australian soccer player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cliff Almond was a former Australian professional soccer player who played as a forward. He was an international player for the Australia national soccer team.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cliff Almond | ||
| Date of birth | 1930 | ||
| Place of birth | Cessnock, Australia | ||
| Date of death | 4 November 2018 (aged 88) | ||
| Place of death | Cessnock, Australia | ||
| Positions | |||
| Youth career | |||
| Aberdare Rangers | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1946–1947 | Cessnock | ||
| 1947 | North Shore | ||
| 1953–1954 | Cessnock | ||
| 1954–1955 | Stirling Albion | 8 | (0) |
| 1955–1969 | Cessnock | ||
| International career | |||
| 1955 | Australia | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
His 24-year career included three spells at Cessnock, a brief stint at North Shore and played with Scottish club Stirling Albion playing eight league games.[1] He reportedly played 464 games at club level, with more than 400 appearances at Cessnock.
Early life
Cliff Almond was born in 1930. Growing up, he was a local colliery clerk until he changed to playing soccer.[2]
Club career
1946–54: Cessnock and North Shore stint
Almond progressed from the Aberdare Rangers youth team in 1946,[3] where he signed for Cessnock as a right winger. He first played for Cessnock at age 15 in the 1946 Gardiner Cup with big impressions from spectators.
He made a brief stint at Sydney club North Shore for a year in 1947.
1954–69: English trials and third Cessnock spell
During mid-1954, Cliff Almond was set to travel to England to trial with English clubs Aston Villa and Newcastle United.[4] He then played for Scottish club Stirling Albion on 31 December 1954 and played eight league games in the 1954–55 season.[5]
He returned to Cessnock in 1955, where he moved to a defensive position and began his international career with the NSW state representative team and the Australia national soccer team.[6] Almond played his final match for Cessnock in the Northern NSW top division at age 38.
International career
Almond was selected as part of Australia's five-test match series against South Africa and played three games as captain.[7] He was also selected for the NSW state representative side against South Africa in August 1955.[8]
Death
Career statistics
Honours
- Cessnock
- Northern NSW Division One Premiership: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1960
- Northern NSW Division One Championship: 1960