Despite a tough loss to Brazil in the quarterfinals, going down 2-1 in Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza, Colombian soccer is going through a renaissance with the success of James (pronounced "HAH-MEZ") Rodriguez, who finished his 2014 World Cup campaign with six goals in the tournament.

The quarterfinals was new territory for fans of Los Cafeteros, a situation they expected to be in during the 1994 U.S. World Cup -- fielding a national team so full of promise and built around a talented group of personalities named "El Pibe" (Carlos Valderrama), "El Tren" (Adolfo Valencia) "El Tino" (Faustino Asprilla), and "El Loco" (Rene Higuita) that not only were as colorful as their names would imply, but also extremely talented.

That team went unbeaten during the Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) qualifiers, including a 2-1 victory over Argentina, in Barranquilla, and then trouncing La Albiceleste in Buenos Aires defeating them 5-0, signaling to the world that they could play with the giants of South America.

But the Colombian national team, with high expectations from their fans to succeed on the international stage -- fans that included the drug cartels that terrorized and paralyzed the nation with their war against the goverment -- got off to a rough start once the tournament started.

The team was first stunned by a Romania team led by Gheorghe Hagi, losing 3-1 in their opening game of the 1994 World Cup, and then going down to the upstart U.S. men's national team -- after Cafetero defender Andrés Escobar put the ball into his own net to try to clear John Harkes' cross intended for Earnie Stewart. Stewart sealed Colombia's fate with a goal in the 52nd minute before the game finally ended 2-1.

Colombia's 1994 World Cup run would end against Switzerland despite beating the Swiss 2-0, needing the Romanians to lose to the Americans, only for the Romanians to beat the U.S. 1-0, officially eliminating Colombia from the World Cup depsite the high expectations.

While many in Colombia were disappointed with how the 1994 World Cup ended, none were as livid as Santiago Gallón and his brother, Peter David, who bet heavily on Colombia making it to the Round of 16. The Gallón brothers are alleged to have ordered their driver, Humberto Castro Muñoz, to gun down Escobar in his hometown of Medellin. Muñoz -- who confessed to the crime -- and three other men (who are believed to be the Gallón brothers) shot Escobar six times after arguing with the Atletico Nacional defender, leaving him to die, reportedly yelling "gol" as they killed him.

A lot changed for the Colombian national team after that fateful day. Escobar's shocking murder left soccer fans in Colombia and across the world stunned, leaving a black mark on Colombian soccer. Many of the players from Colombia's golden era of soccer, deemed it too dangerous to be involved with the national team given their ties to the drug cartels, as noted on ESPN's 30 For 30 documentary series The Two Escobars.

The national soccer team program took a decline, especially with the team no longer getting support from the likes of notorious drug kingpin Pablo Escobar (no relation to Alex Escobar), failing to make it out of the Group Stage in the 1998 France World Cup and failing to the qualify for the 2002 Japan / South Korea World Cup, the 2006 Germany World Cup, and the 2010 South Africa World Cup.

But a new wave of young talent, led by Radamel Falcao, the Ligue 1 Monaco striker who scored nine goals in 2014 CONMEBOL qualifiers (tied for third most goals in the tournament), Teófilo Gutiérrez (scored six goals), and Rodriguez -- who has shined on the world stage after Falcao went down with a ruptured ACL injury -- helped lead Los Cafeteros to a second place finish with a record of 9-3-4.

Unfortunately their run has ended in the quarterfinals, losing to Brazil 2-1 in front of a hostile crowd cheering their home team on. But the future looks bright for the Colombian national team. Rodriguez is 22 and will be a seasoned veteran by the time the 2018 Russia World Cup rolls around. Goalkeeper David Ospina is 25 years old and should pick up more experience playing with Ligue 1 team OGC Nice. The same can also be said of striker Jackson Martínez, 27, playing with FC Porto of Portugal's Primeira Liga.

Maybe this incredible run by the scrappy Cafeteros is the beginnings of a new golden era for Colombian soccer.