By John Sinnott BBC Sport Online

The one-horse race otherwise known as the Norwegian Premier League ran its predictable course on Sunday as Rosenborg Trondheim claimed the title.

For the eleventh time. In a row.

Rosenborg made sure of that remarkable triumph after Molde FK, the only team that had a chance to overtake the great Trondheim side, lost 4-2 against Stabaek.

The Trondheim club managed only a 2-2 draw at Sogndal IL on Saturday, but Molde's defeat has given Rosenborg an unassailable lead.

Rosenborg's eleventh title in a row in Norway equals Skonto Riga's European record, though the Latvian club could lift a twelfth title next month.

Jordan's Al Faysali hold the the world record sequence with thirteen titles in a row won, while Lebanese club Al Ansar have also won eleven titles in a row.

Rosenborg's domination of Norwegian football might be somewhat monotous, but the club could not be described as lacking colour.

Sports director Rune Bratseth - 60-times capped by Norway - almost quit Rosenberg two years ago in a row over whether alcohol should be served in the stadium's executive boxes.

Bratseth is a devout Christian, who believes that sport and alcohol do not mix.

Loyalty

Similarly, Rosenborg coach Nils Arne Eggen, who intends to retire at the end of the season, is also not your run of the mill football manager.

He studied literature and history at university in Oslo while playing as an amateur for Rosenborg and Valerenga, subjects which he later taught.

Together with his assistant coach Ola By Rise he has also edited a book of Norwegian poetry.

Eggen is to call it a day

Eggen has coached the club to 10 of those 11 titles.

He missed the title win in the 1997-98 when he took a sabbatical for a year.

Indeed for 21 of the past 24 years, Eggen has been Rosenborg's manager.

Between 1985 and 1987 he coached Moss and then Norway's Olympic team.

If Eggen has devoted much of his career to the club so have many of the team's key players.

Erik Hoftun, Bent Andre Skammelsrud and Roar Strand have between them made more than 800 appearances for the club.

Midfielder Skammelsrud is the only player at Rosenborg to have won all 11 of those titles between 1991 and 2002.

That surpasses the feat of Dynamo Berlin goalkeeper Bodo Rudwaleit who won 10 championships with the East German club between 1979 and 1988.

But that 10-year stay at the top of the East German Oberliga was helped by their chief patron Erich Mielke's position as head of the Communist state secret police.

Limited resources

The Norwegian club are a world away from the money bag teams of England, Spain, Italy and Germany.

Salaries, which top no more than �300,000 annually, are usually tied to length of service rather than star billing.

Eggen is a firm believer in developing home grown talent.

Thus the Rosenborg team features only two non-Norwegians - Icelandic goalkeeper Arni Arason and Finnish full-back Jan Saarinen.

Bearing in mind their limited resources Rosenborg have also been relatively successful in Europe.

Skammelsrud has played in all 11 title wins

They have managed to qualify for the Champions League group stage in the last eight successive seasons.

Their best performance in in Europe came during the 1996-97 season when Rosenberg reached the last eight of the Champions League, knocking out AC Milan in the process.

Not surprisingly Europe's top clubs have regularly sent their scouts over to Norway to run the rule over Rosenborg's players.

Liverpool's Veggard Heggem and Spurs' Steffen Iversen played for Rosenborg as did Valencia' s John Carew.

But because of their particularly collective style of play sometimes Rosenborg's exports do not always flourish in foreign climes.

Some, like Stale Stensaas, have returned to Norway to revive their careers with the Trondheim club.

As to whether Rosenborg can win a 12th title in a row remains to be seen.

But for now the Norwegian champions will have their minds concentrated on the Champions League group D game against Ajax on Tuesday.

Rosenborg's European mission looks a tougher assignment than their domestic romps - Eggen's team lie bottom of their group, which also includes Olympique Lyon and Inter Milan.