Golden generation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In sport, a golden generation, G.G., or golden team is an exceptionally gifted group of players of similar age, whose achievements reach or are expected to reach a level of success beyond that which their team had previously achieved.[1][2] Below is a list of teams who have been referred to by the media as golden generations, most of which played in the 21st century.

Basketball[]

Argentina (2000–2012)[]

Led by Manu Ginóbili and accompanied by players like Luis Scola, Fabricio Oberto, Carlos Delfino, Andres Nocioni, Pablo Prigioni and Walter Herrmann, the Argentina national basketball team between 2000 and 2012 has been referred to as the "Golden Generation". The team won gold in the Americas Championship 2001, silver in 2002 FIBA World Championship, gold in Basketball at the 2004 Summer Olympics, gold in FIBA Diamond Ball 2008, bronze in Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and gold in 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, resulting in Argentina reaching the first position in the FIBA Men's Ranking at the end of the 2008 Olympic Games.[3]

Football[]

Asia[]

Australia (2005–2012)[]

This Australian team waited 32 years to qualify for a FIFA World Cup tournament. This group of players formed the backbone of Australia's 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2007 AFC Asian Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup, and 2011 AFC Asian Cup squads and was used extensively during Australia's qualification matches for those respective tournaments. The group are considered to be among the best Australia have ever produced and featured players such as Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill, Mark Schwarzer, Mark Bresciano, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Tony Popovic, Scott Chipperfield, Vince Grella, Stan Lazaridis, and John Aloisi.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

Europe[]

Belgium (2014–present)[]

During the 10 years from 2002 to 2012 in which Belgium failed to qualify for major tournaments, a golden generation matured, many of whom gained both prime individual and team awards in foreign European clubs and competitions. These include defender and former captain Vincent Kompany;[10] Kevin De Bruyne, who is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation;[11][12][13][14][15] Eden Hazard, who has been praised as one of the most skillful footballers in the world;[16][17] and Romelu Lukaku, who is currently Belgium's all-time top scorer.[18] Other key players of this golden generation include Thibaut Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Dries Mertens, and Toby Alderweireld. These players helped Belgium finish in third place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the team's best ever performance at the World Cup; and reach number one in the FIFA World Rankings for the first time in November 2015.[19][20][21][22][23]

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010–2017)[]

The current Bosnia and Herzegovina national team was seen by many as the most talented generation the nation has ever had.[24][25][26] They qualified for 2014 FIFA World Cup, their first ever World Cup since their independence and got their first ever World Cup victory, against Iran on 25 June 2014.[27]

Croatia (2012–)[]

Croatia players pose with Vladimir Putin and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović after the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final.

The Croatia national football team of the late 2010s was thought of as the "Second Coming of the Golden Generation";[28][29][30] in reference to the Golden Generation of Croatia from the late 1990s who won the bronze medal in at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Croatia's debut at the World Cup.[31][32] The team, under the leadership of captain Luka Modrić and the style of play by key players such as Mario Mandžukić, Ivan Rakitić, and Ivan Perišić, reached the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, losing to France 4–2.[33][34][35] The squad were praised for their performance at the World Cup.[36][37]

Czech Republic (1996–2006)[]

A golden generation of the Czech Republic were born in the late 1970s and early 1980s, hitting their peaks in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Highlights of this generation include finishing second in UEFA Euro 1996 and third in UEFA Euro 2004. The national team was also qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 2006.

During the first few years of the twenty first century the team were often ranked in the top five of the FIFA World Ranking,[38] and in 2005 reached their joint-highest ranking of second in the world.[39] Much of the squad during this time played in the best leagues in Europe, with talismanic midfielder Pavel Nedvěd winning the Ballon d'Or in 2003 whilst at Juventus, and Milan Baroš and Vladimír Šmicer winning the 2005 Champions League with Liverpool.

England (2001–2007)[]

During the reign of Sven-Göran Eriksson, Adam Crozier, the chief executive of the Football Association and some members of the British media, touted players such as David Beckham, Michael Owen, and Steven Gerrard as the nucleus of a potential Golden Generation team. Despite some impressive performances such as the 2001 Germany v England football match in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers and the individual players' successes at club level, inconsistency resulted in this group of players failing to live up to expectations, resulting in the group becoming synonymous with disappointment and failed potential.[40][41][42][43][44][45]

After Eriksson left in 2006 and Steve McClaren became manager, although many of the players continued to achieve success with their respective clubs, the team failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008, only the second time England failed to qualify for a major tournament in over 20 years (of the last 12 major tournaments). Rio Ferdinand claimed that the pressure of the "Golden Generation" tag had a negative effect on the players, restricting their ability to perform to their full potential for the national team.[46] In 2017, Pep Guardiola said he could not understand why England did not achieve more with players such as Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, and Rio Ferdinand and claimed they were on the same level as Spain's golden generation of 2008–2014.[47]

France (1998–2006, 2016–present)[]

In late 1998 the France national football team began a period of international dominance defeating Brazil 3–0 to win the 1998 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first French team to win the World Cup. Two years later, David Trezeguet's golden goal in extra time gave France a 2–1 win over Italy to give France the 2000 European Championship. France was subsequently ranked No. 1 in the FIFA World Rankings and ranked No. 1 in the World Football Elo Ratings for two years. The team also secured the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup. Despite this impressive recent record, the French team flopped at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, losing to newcomers Senegal in the opening match of the tournament and crashing out in the group stages without scoring a single goal and taking only one point from their three games. A year later they were successful at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. They also reached the World Cup final in Berlin at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where they lost to Italy.[48][49] The French golden team[50] was composed of players such as Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet, Lilian Thuram, Laurent Blanc, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira, Didier Deschamps, Fabien Barthez, Emmanuel Petit, Marcel Desailly, and Bixente Lizarazu.[51]

Germany (2006–2016)[]

After disappointing results in UEFA Euro 2000 and UEFA Euro 2004 the German national football team reached the semi-finals in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the finals in the UEFA Euro 2008, losing to the eventual tournament winner both times. With Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Per Mertesacker playing a major role in these results already, it was the addition of Manuel Neuer, Jérôme Boateng, Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil, Toni Kroos and Thomas Müller that pushed Germany to a top-tier world class team. Led by Joachim Löw the team finished in the top 4 in all major tournaments, additionally 2014 winning their first world title after the German reunification in 1990 and reaching first place in the FIFA World Rankings for the first time after 20 years.[52]

Hungary (1950–1956)[]

Main article: Golden Team

Between 1950 and 1956, the team recorded 42 victories, 7 draws and just one defeat, in the 1954 World Cup final against West Germany. Under the Elo rating system they achieved the highest rating recorded by a national side (2230 points, 30 June 1954).

Iceland (2014–2018)[]

After losing to Croatia in the 2014 World Cup Playoff finals, Iceland got back on the horse and entered a golden generation. Iceland qualified for a major tournament for the first time in 2015 after finishing second in Group A of qualification for Euro 2016, losing only two games, and beating the Netherlands – which had finished third in the 2014 World Cup – twice. During the qualification, they reached their then highest ranking in the FIFA World Rankings, 23rd. Iceland were drawn into a group with Portugal, Hungary and Austria for the final tournament.

At the tournament finals, Iceland recorded 1–1 draws in their first two group stage matches against Portugal and Hungary. They then advanced from their group with a 2–1 victory against Austria. Iceland qualified for the tournament's quarter-finals after a 2–1 upset win over England in the Round of 16, which led to England manager Roy Hodgson resigning in disgrace immediately after the final whistle. However, they were eliminated by host nation France in the quarter-finals, 5–2.

Iceland qualified for the 2018 World Cup, their first ever appearance in the world championship, securing qualification on 9 October 2017 after a 2–0 win against Kosovo. In doing so, they became the lowest-populated country ever to reach the finals. Iceland were drawn to play Croatia, Argentina and Nigeria in a group that was considered by many as the "group of death". Despite a challenging group, Iceland were tipped to advance from the group by several journalist websites, based on their impressive performance in Euro 2016. Their maiden match at the World Cup was against 2014 runners-up Argentina, with Iceland surprisingly holding Argentina to a 1–1 draw. However, their chances of advancing from the group were hurt following a 2–0 loss to Nigeria, putting Iceland to play with full determination against already qualified Croatia. Iceland lost to Croatia in their final group game; and because Argentina won against Nigeria, Iceland finished bottom of the group with just a point.

Italy (1998–2006)[]

The generation of Italian players during the late 1990s and early 2000s was renown for an elite defense, most notably consisting of Paolo Maldini, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta, Gianluca Zambrotta, and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Other key players included Alessandro Del Piero, Christian Vieri, Francesco Totti, Filippo Inzaghi, Gennaro Gattuso, and Andrea Pirlo.[53]

This group of players reached their first major final at UEFA Euro 2000, losing to France in extra time.[54] After a round of 16 elimination at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and a group stage exit at UEFA Euro 2004, both under controversial circumstances,[55][56] they would win the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Italy's fourth ever title at the tournament.[57]

Portugal (2000–2006)[]

Portugal won consecutive FIFA Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991. Subsequently, Portugal's senior team reached the semi-finals of Euro 2000 and were runners-up at Euro 2004 on home soil. They were also 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists.[58][59][60] Some critics have written that this generation underachieved at international level.[61][62] It included players such as Rui Costa, João Pinto, Paulo Sousa, Costinha, Ricardo Carvalho, Luís Figo, and a young Cristiano Ronaldo.

Spain (2008–2014)[]

This generation of players (most notably including Xavi, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Carles Puyol, Iker Casillas, Cesc Fàbregas, David Silva) helped Spain win the UEFA European Championship in 2008 and 2012, and the FIFA World Cup in 2010, making them the first team ever to win the World Cup and both continental championships either side of it. They also reached the final of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.[63] During this time, Spain dominated the FIFA World Rankings, topping the rankings almost uninterrupted for six years, between July 2008 and July 2014.[64]

Yugoslavia (1987–1992)[]

Yugoslavia's generation of young footballers won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship and finished runner-up at the 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The nation then reached the quarter-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and, a year later, a Red Star Belgrade team featuring many of the national team's stars became the first Yugoslav side to ever win the European Cup. Yugoslavia qualified for UEFA Euro 1992 with seven wins from eight matches and the best goalscoring record and goal difference of any team during the qualifying phase. However, the team was disqualified prior to the tournament due to the Yugoslav Wars (it was replaced by the eventual champion, Denmark) and did not play together again after the country's division. Several players from the Yugoslav team went on to finish in third place at the 1998 World Cup with Croatia.[65][66] This pre-dissolution golden generation in soccer was also mirrored by a golden generation of Yugoslav basketball that won the 1990 FIBA World Championship and was cut short by the collapse of the country and the death of star player Drazen Petrovic.

Africa[]

Egypt (2005–2011)

Winning the Africa cup of nations three times in a row, the Pharaohs did achieve what wasn't achieved by any other team in the continent.

Algeria (2010–2014; 2019-)[]

The Algerian team which reached the second round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has been described as a golden generation, or a "second golden generation" in reference to the Algerian team which reached the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and which won the 1990 African Nations Cup.[67][68][69]

Ivory Coast (2006–2015)[]

Despite winning the 1992 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the country saw an outpour of talent during the first half of the 2000s (decade). The majority of this generation consisted of talented players who enjoyed and still enjoy considerable success in Europe. Led by Didier Drogba (who is also the national team's highest ever goalscorer), several other players found contracts in the biggest football stages in the world, such as brothers Yaya and Kolo Touré, Didier Zokora, Emmanuel Eboué, Gervinho and Salomon Kalou. During this period, Ivory Coast managed its first FIFA World Cup appearances in 2006, 2010 and 2014.[70][71] They also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.

South America[]

Chile (2007–2017)[]

The Chile team won back to back Copa América titles in 2015 and in 2016. The backbone of this team came from the U-20 squad that went on to finish third in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup (most notably Alexis Sánchez and Arturo Vidal). However, in 2017 they finished runners-up to Germany's B-team at the Confederations Cup and then inexplicably failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, despite most of the squad being in the primes of their careers, following unexpected losses to Bolivia and Paraguay in qualification.[72]

Colombia (2012–)[]

The current Colombia team are considered as the "Second Golden Generation" of Colombia, in reference to Colombia's Golden Generation from the 1980s and 1990s.[73] Under key players James Rodríguez, Juan Cuadrado and Radamel Falcao, the team reached the 2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage after topping a group featuring Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan, winning all three games.[74][75][76] Colombia then beat Uruguay in the round of sixteen, before suffering a 1–2 defeat to host nation Brazil, in the quarter-finals.[77][78] James Rodríguez was the tournament top goalscorer; and Colombia earned the FIFA Fair Play Award.[79] At the Copa América Centenario, Colombia won third place after beating the United States 1–0.[80] At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Colombia were considered group favourites for Group H;[81][82] featuring Japan, Poland and Senegal.[83] Following a 1–2 defeat to Japan in which they went down to 10-men in under five minutes, Colombia beat Poland 3–0 and later beat Senegal 1–0 to qualify as group winners.[84][85][86] They were knocked out by England in the round of sixteen; losing on penalties.[87] Between June and August 2016, Colombia were ranked as 3rd in both FIFA and Elo ranking.[88]

North America[]

United States (2020-)[]

The current United States player pool is considered to be by far the most talented collection of players that the United States has ever had. After the failure of the United States to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on the final match day, came a new generation of players playing for some of the top clubs in the world. Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards, Zack Steffen, Giovanni Reyna among many others play for clubs such as Chelsea, Juventus, RB Leipzig, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund. This success in exporting individual talent resulted in winning the 2021 CONCACAF Nations League Final over Mexico. The team also sent a reserve squad and managed to once again win the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final over Mexico as heavy underdogs. These two wins propelled the United States into the FIFA World Rankings Top 10 for the first time in 15 years.

Ice hockey[]

Canada (2005–2016)[]

Born in the mid-1980s, the Canadian national men's hockey team has had a golden generation which contributed to five consecutive IIHF World U20 Championships between 2005 and 2009, and subsequently won back-to-back gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, and gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.[89][90][91] Twelve players have also won the Stanley Cup and six are members of the Triple Gold Club.

Finland (2014–)[]

Born in the mid to late 1990s, the Finnish national men's hockey team has had a golden generation of young stars. Finland won the IIHF World U20 Championships in 2014, 2016 and 2019. In the 2016 NHL Draft, three of the top five picks were Finnish.[92]

See also[]

References[]

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