How Chelsea's Filipe Luis Can Use Copa America to Catch Jose Mourinho's Eye

He ranked 40th in Bleacher Report's top 50 players at this summer's Copa America this week, but Filipe Luis will be considered much higher when it comes to Jose Mourinho's thoughts.

He's already a Chelsea player of course, although the coming weeks will act as a shop window for the Brazilian.

Luis is going to be doing much more than representing his country in Chile starting on Sunday—he's selling himself to Mourinho. Again.

Despite Chelsea's success in 2014/15, it's a campaign Luis will want to forget on a personal level. He went from a regular at Atletico Madrid to back-up at Stamford Bridge within a matter of months of featuring in a UEFA Champions League Final.

The expectation was that Cesar Azpilicueta would return to challenging Branislav Ivanovic at right-back now that Luis was on the scene.

It was quite the opposite. After ending Ashley Cole's Chelsea career, Azpilicueta has prevented Luis' from even starting.

Now it's about using the Copa America to influence Mourinho and change the manager's mind.

Marcelo's injury problems have been the silver lining for Luis following his difficult 12 months. Had the Real Madrid defender not been suffering from the back pain that has ruled him out of the Copa America, Luis wouldn't be a starter.

Now to remain so.

Should Luis perform well enough to be considered as his country's first-choice left-back in the future, it will make Mourinho's decision-making much more difficult.

To do that is simple enough on paper but all the more difficult in reality.

It was this time last year when we saw the best and worst of Brazil at the World Cup.

Back then, it was Luiz Felipe Scolari in charge, and the Samba Boys looked exciting in attack at times. There was an effervescence about them, one heightened by the fact that they were playing a World Cup finals in front of their home crowd for the first time in over 60 years.

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For all that razzmatazz in attack, the crushing 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany sent shockwaves throughout the world—let alone the home nation.

Brazil imploded, with their lacklustre defensive display at the heart of it.

Dunga has returned for a second spell as the national team coach and addressed those problems. But back on the big stage of the Copa America, how the Brazilian rearguard performs will be the ultimate acid test for whether or not things have improved.

Luis must be a big part of that—and for the better.

Whether or not Dunga's side can eradicate those problems of the past is not solely down to Luis. It's about the bigger picture and redemption for some of the bigger figures in the team, notably David Luiz.

Mourinho doesn't want to witness his player involved in a similar meltdown to last year. The Chelsea boss wants to watch Luis perform well enough to be regarded as a solution to what went wrong against Germany.

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Luis must add balance, using that considered and cautious approach that has served him well throughout his career to benefit a team that has lacked defensive discipline.

That's perhaps the easy part. Where it gets difficult for Luis is the need for him to rival Marcelo's attacking instincts.

For all their threat in the opposition's half, there is a need for those on the flanks in this Brazilian team to support the likes of Neymar.

And for Luis, success in this area will give him much more than international renown—it'll give him an advantage over Azpilicueta at Chelsea.

Chelsea lack width when they attack teams. Without an out-and-out winger who started most matches last season, there was a tendency to attack teams through the middle.

When Mourinho has Eden Hazard, Willian, Cesc Fabregas and Oscar at his disposal, that isn't always a problem. Nonetheless, playing so centrally at times did hinder them on occasion.

When we consider where Mourinho will make moves this summer, adding a player capable of providing that width must be high on his agenda.

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Can Luis prove an asset on the flanks to balance Ivanovic's attacking contribution?

If we're being hypercritical of Azpilicueta, it's in this area where he is lacking. In his natural position on the right, it's not an issue. The Spaniard has shown what a threat he can be, yet his delivery from the left is suspect.

That stands to reason, so an improved output from Luis can demonstrate what an asset he can prove to be for Mourinho in defence and attack.

With Azpilicueta on holiday, Luis is on centre stage for those Chelsea players with a point to prove this summer.

He has the opportunity to impress. Now to seize it.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.