Why Copa America Is Ideal Place for PSG's David Luiz to Find Form

Paris Saint-Germain’s David Luiz has made a steady, if unspectacular, start to life in Ligue 1 after his arrival from English Premier League side Chelsea last summer.

The Brazilian was one of coach Laurent Blanc’s most used players in the 2014-15 campaign, featuring more often than any of his other defensive team-mates.

However, a muscular injury in PSG’s 3-2 win away at bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille in April hampered the final seven weeks of his campaign, and the 28-year-old was left struggling for fitness at the end of the term.

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Although admirable, Luiz rushing himself back to fitness for Les Parisiens’ difficult run-in was perhaps not the wisest decision.

Clearly not fully fit, the Selecao star was unable to do himself or his team-mates justice and was torn apart by a rampant Barcelona side in both legs of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal encounter.

The injury suffered by captain Thiago Silva in the first leg of that clash with the Spaniards meant that Luiz had to start in his absence, and to the detriment of his form, the frizzy-haired defender was forced to battle on until his fellow Brazilian’s return.

The PSG No. 32 was afforded a few weeks’ rest toward the end of the campaign, but he was back in time for the two final Ligue 1 fixtures and the Coupe de France final against AJ Auxerre.

In those final games against Montpellier HSC, Stade de Reims and AJA, though, it was clear that the South American was still not back to his pre-injury level of performance.

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This summer’s Copa America in Chile is not coming at the perfect time for Luiz. A period of rest ahead of next season would have been ideal for PSG, but Brazil coach Dunga—understandably—wants the former SL Benfica man at his disposal for the tournament.

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Moreover, the 51-year-old sees Luiz as a key member of his starting XI alongside Atletico Madrid’s Miranda and made the PSG man captain for the recent friendly against Mexico—while team-mates Silva and Marquinhos watched on as unused substitutes.

Copa America, although it will not give Luiz time to rest, is a good place for the Selecao star to get back to his best level of performance.

The Brazilians start their campaign against Peru in Temuco on Sunday, before facing Colombia and Venezuela in Santiago. Although Los Cafeteros will not be easy opponents, Dunga’s men should have enough to secure one of Group C’s two top spots to guarantee a place in the quarter-finals.

Luiz should feature in all three of those games and any others beyond the group stage, while the mixed level of opposition to start with should enable the Selecao to make a solid start.

If the PSG man can kick off his campaign in composed fashion, his confidence should grow and result in a good finish to his term before some well-deserved rest.

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The danger for Luiz, like many of his Brazil team-mates, is that the demands of a long season on the back of last summer’s FIFA World Cup on home soil take their toll.

One of the reasons for this campaign’s fitness issues was the fact that there was little time to recover before club training resumed, but the pre-season was also not long enough for Luiz to get in adequate shape to start the domestic term at an optimum level of fitness.

Luiz should be assured of an adequate rest period once Copa America is over, so now he must just concentrate on rediscovering a consistent level of form. If the PSG man can do that, then Brazil could go all the way in Chile this summer.