For a while they were the epitome of Champions League longevity. Which is remarkable when one considers who they are and where they come from. Rosenborg, the Norwegian champions who face Chelsea on Wednesday, hail from Trondheim, a city with a population of a shade more than 150,000 and a ground, the Lerkendal, holding nearly 22,000.

The money men did not have Rosenborg in mind when the Champions League concept was hatched in the early 1990s, yet they reeled off 13 domestic titles between 1992 and 2004. Perhaps more impressively, they qualified for the Champions League proper on eight consecutive occasions, a record that stood until 2004 (and it took none other than Manchester United to surpass them).

Their presence made a comparatively small club familiar to a far wide audience. Along the way came plenty of highlights, including victories away to AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund, as well as a 2-0 win over a Real Madrid team who went on to win the European crown in 1998. And then there are their feats from this season: holding Chelsea to a draw at Stamford Bridge and beating Valencia at home and away.

When I think back to those teams, my mind is filled with images of a bunch of white-clad, unshaven giants (with the exception of the 5ft 6in Jahn “Mini” Jakobsen), most with unkempt hair. They had names like Erik, Bent, Frode, Vidar and, most memorably, Roar, as in Strand, who is in his thirteenth season at the club.

Such sustained success is remarkable, not least because when clubs of Rosenborg’s stature make a splash on the European scene, bigger clubs normally raid their squad. And yet this has not happened to any significant degree. Some, such as John Carew and Vegard Heggem, did move on. Others, such as Harald Brattbakk, left twice only to return shortly afterwards both times. Most, like Strand, stuck around for the ride, forsaking higher wages and greater exposure elsewhere.

Conventional wisdom cites two key factors behind Rosenborg’s success. The first is Nils Arne Eggen, the long-time manager. He was in charge from 1988-2002 (with a year’s sabbatical in 1998) and has twice returned as a special adviser. Eggen is one of those monumental figures who often surface in football’s provinces – think of Guy Roux at Auxerre. He was a creative thinker and a sterling man-manager.

His unorthodox 4-3-3 formation, which often featured wingers the size of target men, and his sudden counter-attacking surges are the stuff of tactical legend. Man for man, most of the players who have pulled on a Rosenborg shirt over the years have been unremarkable in terms of ability. Yet there they were, fighting on equal terms with Europe’s giants.

Rosenborg won a further two domestic titles after Eggen’s departure, but there were signs that things were not right and, in 2005, they finished in mid-table. They won the title again in 2006, albeit after a turbulent season during which they had three managers. Despite their Champions League success, this year was again disappointing domestically: another managerial change and a fifth-place finish.

Eggen has loomed in the background, but at 66 he has no interest in a full-time role. The highly respected Trond Sollied is expected to take over next year and that may be Rosenborg’s best hope of moving forward.

So, what went wrong? Well, perhaps they were a victim of the second reason behind their success. Scandinavians have a concept - Janteloven (literally, the Jante law) – which takes its name from the 1933 novel A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks by Aksel Sandemose. It is a sort of “Ten Commandments” on how to fit into provincial Scandinavian societies and it can be summed up in one sentence: “Don’t think you’re special and don’t you ever believe that the individual is better or more important than the rest of society.”

Sociologists have written entire texts about this and how it enables Scandinavian nations to be what they are: close-knit, egalitarian and altruistic. Which is what keeps their welfare states afloat. Eggen apparently built on the Janteloven concept, fostering a team spirit where every player was willing to sacrifice himself for the others.

Alas, there is a flip-side to Janteloven. It can stifle ambition and competitiveness. It does not value success unless it is collective success. But in football there is no such thing, there are only winners and losers. Perhaps that was the problem.

Janteloven becomes unsustainable when you win 13 titles in a row. Why pretend you are no better or no more special than the rest when you are? It may well be that this played a big part in Eggen’s decision to step aside. He realised that his formula for success could take them only so far. Or maybe he did not want to be seen as too special. That would not be Janteloven.

Triumph for Kaká

It will not be official for a while, but Kaká has apparently been named as European Footballer of the Year. We know this because France Football, the magazine that awards the prize, needs to organise the customary photo shoot and alerted Kaká.

Michael Owen is the only player since 1968 to have won the accolade while playing in England. Of the winners in the past 20 years, only two – Owen and Andriy Shevchenko – played in England at some point. Maybe there is bias. Or maybe the men who market “the best league in the world” could be doing a better job (rather than telling us what a great job they are doing).

Seeds of doubt

Austria, as co-hosts, are top seeds for Euro 2008. In the past 12 months they have won one match out of 11. Lowlights include home draws against Tunisia and Paraguay, a home defeat by Chile and a draw in Malta. Is it surprising, then, that Michel Platini, the Uefa president, wants to revise the seeding procedures for 2012?