Thorbjørn Svenssen

As a player, Svenssen was, as his nickname suggests, a rock-solid central defender. Tall and strong, calm under pressure and perhaps a bit dirty (at least by today's standards), he had all the qualities required by a centre-back. He was also known for his leadership and his serious approach to training, and was in every sense a great role model for the younger players. Even so, Svenssen could not carry the team on his own, and Norway were not a particularly good side in the 1950s. Part of the reason was probably the amateur rules at the time. While the other European leagues were adopting professional football, the Norwegian players were strictly part-timers.

In the match against Egypt on Christmas Eve 1948, in his 12th international, Svenssen was given the captain's armband for the first time, and he held on to it for the rest of his international career. Throughout the 1950s, he was practically ever-present in the side, but in June 1952 he was dropped from the squad for a friendly against Yugoslavia, prompting one newspaper to claim that "Svenssen has played his 31st and probably last match for Norway". Norway lost the match 4-1, and Svenssen never missed another match unless he was injured. On 25 May 1955, Svenssen became Norway's most capped player of all time when he won his 55th cap, passing his contemporary Gunnar Thoresen who held the previous mark. Nobody knew it at the time, but Svenssen was barely halfway done.

At club level, Svenssen spent his entire career at his hometown club Sandefjord, where he played from 1945 to 1966. Through most of Svenssen's career, Sandefjord was among the better teams in the league, but never quite good enough to win any major honors. Their best league performance was second place in 1956. They also reached the cup final twice (1957 and 1959), but lost on both occations, which means that Svenssen failed to win a single medal in his otherwise excellent career.

NOTE: Matches in red are not recognized as full internationals by FIFA.

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