Career
Svenssen was a tall and strong central defender who played his entire career for his hometown team Sandefjord. However, he did play twice in the Norwegian cup final (1957 and 1959), finishing on the losing side both times. His steady and solid play at the back earned him the nickname "Klippen" ("The Rock").
Svenssen made his international debut on 11 June 1947, in a friendly against Poland.
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 on Christmas Eve 1948), and kept the captain"s armband throughout the rest of his international career.
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.
When he received his 104th cap, Svenssen was 38 years and 24 days, and is the third oldest player at the Norwegian national team, only beaten by Gunnar Thoresen and Ronny Johnsen.