Ole Thorbjørn Svenssen (22 April 1924 – 8 January 2011) was a Norwegian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

, who played a then record 104 international games for

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, and captained the side 93 times. He was one of the first footballers who played 100 international games for their country. He was also part of Norway's squad at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Club career

Svenssen was a tall and strong central defender who played his entire career for his hometown team

Sandefjord Sandefjord () is a city and the most populous municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, Norway. The municipality of Sandefjord was established on 1 January 1838. The municipality of Sandar was merged into Sandefjord on 1 January 1969. On 1 ...

. At club level, Svenssen played 22 seasons for Sandefjord, but never won any major trophies (Sandefjord finished second in the league in 1955–56). However, he did play twice in the

Norwegian cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

final (

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

), finishing on the losing side both times. His steady and solid play at the back earned him the nickname "Klippen" ("The Rock").

International career

Svenssen made his debut for the Norway national team on 11 June 1947, in a friendly against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He remained virtually ever-present in the national side throughout the next decade and a half. He was named captain in his 12th international (a friendly against

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

on Christmas Eve 1948), and kept the captain's armband throughout the rest of his international career. Svenssen won his 100th cap against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

on 17 September 1961. At the time, Svenssen was only the second player in the history of football to reach 100 international appearances. The first was Billy Wright, who reached the milestone in October 1958. Svenssen's 104th and final cap came in a 2-1 win against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on 16 May 1962. When he received his 104th cap, Svenssen was 38 years and 24 days, and is today the fourth oldest player to have played for the Norway national team, only beaten by

Frode Johnsen Frode Johnsen (born 17 March 1974) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played for Odd and Rosenborg in the Tippeligaen and for Nagoya Grampus and Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. He played in several positions, but was preferred as a s ...

Gunnar Thoresen Gunnar Nils Thoresen (21 July 1920 – 30 September 2017) was one of the greatest Norwegian footballers in the 1940s and 1950s. A forward, played 64 matches and scored 22 goals for the Norway national team and took part in the 1952 Summer Olymp ...

and

Ronny Johnsen Jean Ronny Johnsen (born 10 June 1969) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. Johnsen played club football in Norway, Turkey, and England for Sem, Stokke, Eik-Tønsberg, Lyn, Lillestrøm, Beşik ...

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Svenssen, Thorbjorn 1924 births 2011 deaths People from Sandefjord Norwegian footballers Association football defenders Norway international footballers Sandefjord BK players FIFA Century Club Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Norway Sportspeople from Vestfold og Telemark

Club career

International career

See also

References