Back then, Ajax looked to win their second consecutive Champions League trophy after beating the mighty AC Milan the previous year thanks to a goal from Patrick Kluivert, but a penalty shootout got in their way.
The striker was one of the main men in a magical generation of footballers managed by Louis Van Gaal, with other names such as Edgar Davids, Jari Litmanen, the De Boer brothers of Marc Overmars leading the way.
And it is the latter who has returned to the club, this time as technical director, to take his team to another European final. The Dutch side were dwarfed financially in the years following their success, and have since sat out of the continental landscape.
'It makes me proud,” Overmars told The Independent, 'when I started here I wanted to do the same as I did as a player, and reach a final. Now to achieve it this year is fantastic for us'.
The decades have rolled on, but the genes remain as the Kluivert surname is once again represented. Having just turned of age, Patrick's son Justin will aspire to emulate his father.
A group of young talents who have managed to find order without renouncing to their natural talent, and with 19-year-old Kasper Dolberg leading the line.
A youthful and interesting squad that brings back memories of Ajax's more prosperous years, when money did not equal success. Sooner or later, Ajax fight back.