By Frank Dell’Apa
The Colombian national teams of the early ‘90s injected an inspiring combination of style and substance into the World Cup.
No country had a goalkeeper as flamboyant as Rene Higuita, a forward speedier than Faustino Asprilla, a midfielder as uniquely skillful as Carlos Valderrama.
But the Cafeteros crashed out of the 1990 and ’94 World Cups, brought down by their own naivete and outside pressures that threatened coaches’ and players’ mortality.
Those teams did not reach the heights hinted at by their potential. And their spectacular performances set up unreasonably high expectations -- which seemed to hang over succeeding groups.
Colombia has failed to qualify for three successive World Cups but now seems on the verge of a new beginning. 
“It is not affecting this team, the shadow that you say has covered this team,” said Valderrama, whose extravagant playmaking and big hair fed into the hype.
“It has been gone for a while. This team has escaped that shadow by the way it plays and the style it has, the maturity it has, the results it has achieved. The shadows are in the past. And they are going to make their own history.”
“El Pibe” is now 51 and has been retired for nearly 10 years. He spent most of the last decade of his career competing for teams in the U.S., and is now promoting the Sueño MLS program, which has produced several professional players.
It has taken a generation or two for Colombia to leave the past behind. Expectation levels returned to normal long enough for the national team to regroup and to uncover another charismatic figure in Radamel Falcao, who happens to be from the same Caribbean coastal area as Valderrama.
Colombia again has produced a team that is capturing imaginations and galvanizing the population.
“This team is different,” Valderrama said during a visit to beIN SPORT studios in Miami. “I think the past generations were unable to achieve their goals – there have been many coaching changes, changes of players. But for this process, this group has had the same base, the coach has maintained this base and things have remained positive because of the results they have obtained.
“Colombia has very good players. They are showing it on the field. The objective is the World Cup and I think they are on the way to qualifying.
"I think people in Colombia are enthusiastic about this team. If they play well, it creates real affection with the country and if they get results this team will achieve the maximum.”
The maximum, for now, is just getting to the World Cup. Colombia (19 points) trails Argentinaby four points in the standings and should have a smooth road to Brazil 2014.
But success at the World Cup, if Colombia has learned its lessons, will depend as much on managing expectations as managing the midfield.