Copa America Is Ideal Place for Manchester City's Fernandinho to Find Form

Manchester City are unlikely to be happy about the Copa America this summer. Having just come off of a disappointing season in which a host of their best players looked tired after their World Cup exertions, the idea of seeing a number of their stars trudging off to play in another South American summer tournament, this time in Chile, is far from ideal.

Sergio Aguero will be one they keep a close eye on. Aguero’s importance to City cannot be overstated. He scored 26 league goals and further underlined his credentials as one of the finest players on the planet this season.

Considering Aguero has had his fair share of injury problems over the past two years, he could have benefited from a summer’s rest. Now that he'll be forgoing that time off, every challenge he goes in for at this tournament will be met with a collective wince in Manchester.

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For Fernandinho, though, the Copa America could well be a positive. He is part of a Brazil squad who will be expected to be involved deep into the competition. Given he made just 25 league starts this season, he has had periods of rest and looked full of energy toward the end of the campaign. Injury and fatigue are less of a concern for the midfielder.

In fact, since his form hasn’t quite lived up to the standard he set in 2013-14 since Brazil’s crushing World Cup semi-final exit at the hands of a ruthless German side, it could be just what he needs.

The 7-1 defeat clearly affected Fernandinho, and his second season at City didn’t quite match up to his first. Germany were 5-0 up inside half an hour in one of the most embarrassing matches in Brazil's long history. Fernandinho played poorly. 

If Brazil can go to Chile and exorcise some of the demons of that match, and if Fernandinho can play a big part for his side, he could come back to City in a better frame of mind next season.

That’s not to say he was poor. He remains one of City’s best and most important players, but the consistent brilliance he showed in his debut campaign gave way to periods of inadequacy. He looked fragile in the opening weeks of the season, bereft of confidence and clearly affected by being part of a Brazil side who were so mercilessly taken apart in front of their own fans.

But given Yaya Toure’s dip in form and Fernando’s inability to settle into life in the Premier League, Fernandinho, over the course of the season, proved his worth to City.

He brings an energy and dynamism to their midfield. He may be 30, but he provides drive as a hybrid midfielder who can add something to both the attacking and defensive sides of City’s game. While Toure is now allowed to focus almost solely on adding quality in the final third and Fernando is exclusively a defensive midfielder, Fernandinho is the club’s only box-to-box man.

He was City's best player in their defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in April, but he was inexplicably dropped from the side afterward. Only his last-minute winner at home against Aston Villa after coming off the bench to replace the injured Toure saw him regain his place in the starting XI. He was superb from then on. 

A strong finish to the season will give him belief going into the Copa America. This could be the tournament he needs. There will be less pressure and scrutiny on Brazil’s players than there was last summer when they were attempting to win football’s biggest prize in their own country. City will be hoping he comes back reinvigorated and renewed. 

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and follows the club from a Manchester base. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.