Could Alexandre Pato and Paulo Henrique Ganso Earn a Brazil Recall in 2015?

A new year and, quite possibly, a new start are just around the corner. For Brazil, the great challenge of 2015 will lie in the Copa America, to be held in Chile, in the middle of the year.

Boss Dunga, whose reappointment did not exactly light up the nation with enthusiasm, has nevertheless made a solid start to life back at the helm of the Selecao ship. June’s excursion to Chile will however be his first competitive test, and it should give an indication of progress made and lessons learnt since the ignominy of the World Cup.

The coach has, encouragingly, not been afraid to place his trust in domestically-based players.

Back in October, during the second half of Brazil’s 4-0 rout of Japan, over half the team plied their trade in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Beyond who he has already picked, there are further options on home soil open to Dunga.

Two of whom were playing their club football for Sao Paulo this term. It seems like we are covering old ground by returning to the old debates around Paulo Henrique Ganso and Alexandre Pato—both players who have featured on these pages before—but with any teenage sensations seemingly gone off the boil, the intrigue remains.

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But were the pair productive enough in 2014 to earn another international chance in 2015? With friendlies coming up in March, against France and an as yet unnamed opponent, it is more than likely their Brasileirao form would be a strong part of any consideration.

Sao Paulo—and Corinthians, were Pato to head back there for the upcoming campaign—qualified for the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, which will be their only competitive and meaningful football prior to the March internationals in the net calendar year.

Any supposed form in the Campeonato Paulista, the horribly outdated Sao Paulo state championship, against shoddy opposition on even worse pitches, can be quickly discounted.

That means that contributions during the recent Brasileirao season will be taken into consideration. The club were runners-up in the national league with one of the most intoxicating front lines in the league.

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Led by Kaka, Ganso, Pato and potential Selecao forward Alan Kardec meant established former first-choice international during Dunga's last reign, Luis Fabiano, was forced to settle for a place on the bench more often than not.

When looking at the pair of Pato and Ganso, one would appear to be in with a greater chance of breaking into the international ranks, and not only for the coach's preferred tactical shape.

The former has been back in Brazil for two full seasons now following a multi-million pound transfer from European giants Milan, and it would be fair to say it hasn't worked out yet for the 25-year-old.

Pato spent just one year at Corinthians before being loaned to city rivals Sao Paulo, and he failed to reach double figures for the season. That includes a solitary strike in his final 10 games, per Whoscored.com.

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Pato's preference for playing through the middle should have seen him reap the benefits of Sao Paulo's creative prowess, but, despite some isolated moments of magic, he has failed to provide the kind of goal threat that he so often threatened to in his early days at San Siro.

Ganso, meanwhile, looks to be heading in the right direction. The playmaker, once ahead of the likes of Oscar and Willian who now consistently find themselves selected ahead of the former Santos starlet, made 34 league appearances last term, providing eight assists, per Whoscored.com.

Add that to five further assists in 31 appearances the previous season and you have a player who, while perhaps not yet reaching the dizzying heights expected of him four years ago, is finally playing with the kind of consistency that appeared to have deserted him in his latter days at Vila Belmiro.

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In many ways, the Brasileirao is the perfect fit for Ganso at this stage of his career. The slower pace of the league has allowed a player of his ilk to gradually play himself back into form, and he is now reaping the benefits.

Whether it is enough, though, to convince Dunga is questionable. There are already a wealth of options in the attacking sector. The likes of Diego Tardelli and Everton Ribeiro are proving their international credentials as part of a group not based around the talents of any individual.

If Ganso can maintain progress, however, all hope may not be lost. The 2011 Copa America was the low point in his career to date; 2015 could prove the redemption.