Golden generations that did or did not live up to expectations

[Excape Goat]

Ajax 1995: The CL trophy was big, but they failed to win the European Championship and the WC. In fact, they could not even reach the Final as host in Euro 2000. Failure???

Portugal youth teams early 1990s: Their performance at WC 2002 was misleading as only three or four members from those youth teams played in Japan/Korea. Portugal as a whole actually is much stronger in the past 5 years than any generations since 1966. May be those youth products of the 1990s did okay.

Ghana youth teams early 1990s: LOL.

[dor02]

The Ajax and Holland sides of the 1990s were different teams which had different expectations. I wouldn't say that Ajax really underachieved but I thought the Dutch national team could have done better.

The Red Star Belgrade team of the early 1990s didn't live up to it's full potential. In 1991, when they won the European Cup, they played great, attacking football bar the final and they had some of the best Yugoslav youngsters at that time. If it weren't for the Yugoslav civil war and for the club's money being frozen in European banks, that Red Star team could have been a powerful side.

The Yugoslav national team in the same era couldn't do much due to the same reasons. Some of those players were in Yugoslavia's 1987 Youth World Cup winning squad.