Three teams, two continents: how Casper Svendby and Albert Thorsen landed at Pitt

Photo courtesy Pitt Athletics

They’re playing on the same college team for the first time this season—even collaborating on a pair of goals—but Albert Thorsen and Casper Svendby knew each other long before they’d ever heard of Pitt Men’s Soccer.

Born three months apart, the duo grew up in Drammen, Norway, a town of 105,000 roughly an hour outside of Oslo, the capital city. The Panthers are the third team they’ve suited together for. They attended the same high school and played for the same preparatory team, but their roots go back even farther than that. In the early days, Thorsen and Svendby played for rival teams… as bitter a rivalry as one can find for U10 soccer.

“We played in the same league Under 10, Under 12 and we were the two most competitive teams,” Svendby said. “So it was like a season finale every time we played each other. I would say it was pretty heated.”

Svenby plays right-back, while Thorsen plays on the wing. Despite the furious competition (and corresponding positions), Thorsen said they often weren’t facing off directly.

“I used to play as a striker but then as I got older I started moving more out wide, so we didn’t really [face off against each other],” Thorsen said. “We had a couple duels but weren’t matched up against each other that much.”

Although they weren’t always facing off on the field, Svendby said he does remember an even more important interaction… trash talk.

“I always remember talking about the results when we were playing against each other,” Svendby said. “They would beat us one time, [we would beat them] another time, and it would be like an ongoing beef, which was funny at the time.”

Svendby added that they became more competitive once they joined the same academy team, pushing one another in friendly competition.

“That happened more in training later on when we actually played for the same team, then we had to play each other, push each other,” Svendby said.

Traveling across the pond

After playing together for the better part of a decade between the academy and high school, it came time for Svendby to settle on a college team. Although they’re the same age, Svendby came to the states a year before Thorsen did. The Panthers recruited Svendby heavily out of high school, but it didn’t work out at first.

“I was pretty close with Pitt and the coaching staff before I came to the US, and Pitt was really my number one option coming out of high school. But it didn’t really work out with them coming over to watch me,” Svendby said. “So I chose Dayton, which I thought was a better fit with my time [frame], how I wanted to come to college.”

During Svendby’s freshman year at Dayton, the Panthers qualified for the College Cup for the second time in three seasons. The Flyers, meanwhile, saw their year end in the A-10 Semifinals.

“I knew a lot about Pitt, specifically throughout my first year in the states when they made the Final Four, I watched a lot of their games,” Svendby said.

Svendby described how it felt to be on the outside looking in, knowing he could’ve been a Panther, contributing to a team with a chance at a national title. Did he feel left out?

“Obviously, a little bit. I’m a really competitive person and obviously I want to win, and I knew Pitt was one of the programs that had a major shot at winning the ACC, which is the most competitive league, and also having a shot at the NCAA title, which is the ultimate goal,” Svendby said. “So yeah, I felt like I was missing out a little bit, but at the same time I really had a good year and a half at Dayton where I feel like I developed a lot, but at the end I felt like I was ready to take a bigger step.”

Joining forces… again

Thorsen began at Pitt during Svendby’s second year at Dayton, but he started his recruiting pitch even before he suited up for the Panthers.

“It’s kinda funny actually because when I was thinking about going to college I told Casper like ‘go into the portal, let’s transfer somewhere together,’” Thorsen said. “Obviously it’s just easier to have someone you know when you move across the lake to go study in America. So I said that kinda as a joke and then Casper responded like “I can’t go right now, I have to finish the season, but we’ll see about next year.”

Once Svendby entered the portal, he found out that the Panthers remained interested in his ability.

“Pitt was pretty much a no-brainer for me,” Svendby said. “I had Albert here, which obviously helped a lot, but also their playing style and the way they play football.”

Thorsen, for his part, said he kept up the sales pitch during his freshman year at Pitt, even if it wasn’t entirely needed.

“I just told him how much I liked it here, how professional everything is here and Casper wanted a bigger challenge too, so he went into the portal too and we managed to make it work. We sure are happy about it,” Thorsen said.

Back on the pitch

Close friends off the field, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Svendby and Thorsen know how to work together on it. Two of Thorsen’s six goals this season came on a dish from Svendby, and Thorsen described how their rapport developed.

“I started off as a striker at that time too when we both started at the academy, but then I was moved out as a winger, so we ended up playing at the same time at the same side,” Thorsen said. “So the chemistry we have now is basically from us playing together as a right winger and a right back, or left winger and left back. We played that way for at least five years.”

Although he plays right-back, Svendby—the ACC Defensive Player of the Year—is no slouch when on the attack, finding the back of the net three times this season and matching his total in two years with Dayton. Svendby described how Pitt’s system helps him find success.

“I get a lot of freedom here, [whether] that’s going in the middle or going up high wide, so it’s been pretty awesome to be honest with you, coming to Pitt and having so much freedom in my role,” Svendby said. “I would say the way I’ve developed it is through looking at players like Trent [Alexander-Arnold, right-back for Liverpool and the English National Team] and seeing those players develop their game into more of an all-around player, which I also see myself as. I would just say it’s been looking at a lot of different fullbacks and midfielders and seeing how they operate.”