For all of the pain the Ivory Coast endured across a decade of near-misses at the FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations, the match that best captures the failure of their Golden Generation is not a grand clash with Brazil, Argentina, the Netherlands or Portugal.
It's none of those heroic defeats from their first two World Cup campaigns - 2006 and 2010 - when the draw seemed almost cruel in its severity.
It is Greece 2-1 Ivory Coast in Fortaleza on 24 June 2014, the night when their excuses finally ran out.
The context
Ivory Coast's Golden Generation should have been one of Africa's all-time great tournament teams. At club level, its leading figures achieved almost everything and were among some of the sport's icons of their generation.
Didier Drogba became a Chelsea legend, breaking records with his performances in the biggest matches at Wembley while almost single-handedly winning the Champions League final on his own against Bayern Munich in 2012.
Yaya Toure was a force of nature at Barcelona, the only player to win the African Footballer of the Year award four times in a row, and lit the touch paper for this modern Manchester City era of dominance.
Kolo Toure won Premier League titles with both Arsenal (as an Invincible) and Manchester City, also featuring for Liverpool, while Didier Zokora, Emmanuel Eboue, Salomon Kalou, Gervinho, Romaric, Aroune Kone and later Wilfried Bony all built substantial European careers representing some of the continent's genuine footballing institutions.
While qualification in 2006 meant a World Cup debut for the Elephants, this was not some romantic underdog group. It was a squad stacked with top end experience, Premier League power and immense individual quality.
The Elephants boasted a squad that was a rarity for African teams at the World Cup; not just one or two superstars holding up a side with immense disparities in competencies, but depth, pedigree, a fine spine, and options.
Recall 2006 and 2010's tough draws
However, their story at the highest level became a tale of frustration and regret.
At the Africa Cup of Nations, they were nearly-men for almost a decade; losing the '06 final to Egypt, falling to the same Pharaohs side in the '08 semis, losing to Algeria in the quarters two years later.
Then, in 2012, reaching the final in Libreville without conceding only to be stunned by a Zambia side driven forth by the inevitability of fate, the ghosts of 1993 watching down from above.
Another AFCON exit in 2013, this time to eventual champions Nigeria, had made the phrase 'Golden Generation' feel less like praise and more like an accusation of a squandered providence.
However, we mustn't forget that this collection did break new ground. Qualification for the World Cup in '06 -- against a backdrop of civil war and Drogba's famous appeal for peace -- was a genuine national landmark in the midst of a challenging decade.
They had carried their country to football's biggest stage... and were then rewarded with one of the most brutal group draws in history. They were drawn with Argentina, the Netherlands, and both Serbia and Montenegro in Group C.
Has there ever been a team in history who have had two tougher first-ever World Cup matches than imperial gatekeepers Argentina and Holland back to back?!
They weren't humiliated, though, pushing Argentina hard in a 2-1 defeat, falling to the Dutch by the same scoreline, before seeing off Serbia 3-2 to secure their first ever World Cup victory.
By this point, their elimination was confirmed, but all things considered, an early exit wasn't the worst outcome for a team still finding their feet at this level, and they'd learn from an experience in which they were 2-0 down in all three games inside the first 40 minutes.
In 2010, the draw was barely kinder, with Brazil, Portugal and North Korea awaiting them in South Africa. Their campaign that year was also overshadowed by an injury sustained by Drogba before the tournament, with the talisman breaking his arm on the eve of the World Cup.
He refused to withdraw and played with protection, like a wounded general still insisting on riding into battle, but the energy wasn't the same, the mood wasn't the same.
A 0-0 draw with Portugal was an excellent result, but in the context, perhaps more was needed, as the Elephants subsequently fell 3-1 to Brazil before beating North Korea 3-0.
And so, to Brazil in 2014
By 2014, the Elephants were older and wiser, but, more importantly, the draw opened up for them in a way that could almost be felt as an apology from FIFA for the two horror groups they'd received in the previous two tournaments.
Colombia were strong, but not Argentina or Brazil strong. Japan were competent, but nothing like the Netherlands or Portugal, while Greece, the fourth team in the group, offered precious little going forward.
Drogba, now 36, wasn't the player he once had been, but still had the capacity to change games. Yaya was at the height of his powers, Gervinho and Bony were excellent emerging threats, while Serge Aurier and Max-Alain Gradel spearheaded a new wave of talented players.
They came from behind to defeat Japan 2-1 -- Drogba's introduction changing the complexion of the contest -- before falling to a 2-1 defeat by Colombia, with Gervinho scoring one of the outstanding goals of the group stage with a slaloming run from the left flank.
It left them heading into their final game against Greece in control of their destiny and knowing exactly what they needed to do to progress to the knockouts for the first time: avoid defeat, and they'd be in the Second Round.
This is what makes the Elephants' collapse in Fortaleza so damning. This was the opportunity the generation had waited for; not another brave defeat, not another heroic near miss, but a match, completely in their hands, against weaker opponents, where history was theirs for the taking.
And they blew it.
There were warning signs from the start, with the Elephants appearing nervy, going long, and lacking the authority they'd shown in their comeback against Japan. Yet the talent and the invention was one-sided; while Greece were austerity, the Ivory Coast was abundance.
After a Cheick Tiote error had allowed Andreas Samaris to open the scoring, the Ivorians responded through substitute Bony -- following fine work from Gervinho -- who equalised with 16 minutes remaining on the clock.
A quarter of an hour to play, and the Elephants were going through.
There was no need to chase, no need to panic. Just demonstrate the kind of maturity, control, poise and game management that players of this ilk had demonstrated week in, week out at club level.
And yet, in stoppage time, a clumsy foul from Giovanni Sio brought Georgios Samaras down in the box, and the Celtic striker promptly stepped up to fire home the winner in the 93rd minute.
Greece won 2-1. The Ivory Coast were out.
The cruelty of the failure came in its mundaneness. This was not Messi, not Robben, not Kaka, not Cristiano Ronaldo. It was Greece. They were so ordinary. There were no excuses... not even a goalkeeping blunder, the likes of which had proved their Achilles heel in years gone by.
"We were a minute away from pulling off the achievement, but those are the small details at the highest level," then-head coach Sabri Lamouchi said after the match.
"Against Colombia and Greece, our opponents didn't need huge chances because we gave them opportunities to hurt us. It's unforgivable."
This team had spent a decade building up to this historic moment - finally getting over the line into the knockouts - and they failed once again.
Six months later, there was a measure of redemption as they clinched the AFCON in Bata, defeating Ghana on penalties, although by now, with Drogba having retired from international football, the 'Golden Generation' tag no longer felt apt for this collection.
The likes of Kolo, Boubacar Barry, Tiene, Kalou, Gervinho still got their hands on the title, ensuring that they would not exclusively be remembered as failures dressed in orange. But it didn't fully redeem those World Cup years.