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It seems funny, or perhaps sad to think about it now, but four years ago, in the build up to the World Cup in Germany, the Brazilian press was full of claims that Ronaldinho would use the tournament to show that he was even better than Pele.

At the time it didn't seem so far fetched. Going into the World Cup he was the number one star with the winners of the Champions League, FC Barcelona. He had been the junior member of the World Cup winning attack in Japan and South Korea in 2002, and at 26, he appeared to be at exactly the right age to stamp his influence all over the action in Germany.

History, of course, shows that it didn't happen.

Failed to deliver in Germany

It was probably not his fault. In the heat of battle the Brazil team revealed itself to be top heavy, unbalanced by the attempt to cram so much attacking talent into the same starting line up. Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazil's coach at the time, has since confessed that he went against his own philosophy by selecting a side that, with Ronaldo and Adriano backed up by Ronaldinho and Kaka, was a throwback to old style 4-2-4. None of the big names did themselves justice. Ronaldinho was not the only one who fell off his horse.

But, some three and a half years later, it seems that he felt the impact of the fall greater than the others. Veteran Ronaldinho watchers will recall that there is a precedent. The goofy star suffered a mini-slump after failing to live up to expectations in Australia in the 2000 Olympics. He was out of the international picture for a while, and only regained his place in the run up to the 2002 World Cup.

The problem is, though, that the post-2006 slump has proved deeper and longer. In what theoretically should be his peak years, the late twenties, Ronaldinho has stumbled around with the air of a man disenchanted with his profession.

Dunga takes charge

After the failure of Germany 2006, Dunga took over as Brazil coach on a team-over-stars ticket. He made his point by dropping both Kaka and Ronaldinho from his first squad, and then leaving them on the substitutes bench for the second. In the case of Kaka, as soon as he came on he gave a demonstration of his strengths, running half the length of the field to score against Argentina in London. Brazil very quickly became Kaka's team, built around his power, intelligence and directness, a machine for launching the counter-attack.

There was no similar response from Ronaldinho. In awe of his peerless talent, Dunga showed great patience with Ronaldinho. The player was carried around in the squad for nearly three years, always in the hope that he might suddenly find his form. It didn't happen, and in the end Dunga was forced to leave him out. An excess of tolerance with Ronaldinho carried the risk of undermining the coach's message. Dunga kept saying that the truth was on the field, that the players selected themselves as a result of their performances on the pitch. But, overweight and out of sorts, Ronaldinho was strolling around like some long retired star of yesteryear who has turned up for a charity match.

When Pep Guardiola took over at Barcelona, getting rid of Ronaldinho was one of his first moves. There was criticism in the Brazilian press - but results quickly proved the Catalan coach right. The Brazilian, it was said, was over-indulging in alcohol. He had become a disruptive influence on himself and others. Barcelona went on to triumph after glorious triumph, while Ronaldinho had a desperately disappointing season with Milan, spending much of his time on the bench or in the stands.

Earlier this year when Dunga left him out of the squad he commented that Ronaldinho was suffering from not getting a regular game for his club. If this were to change, the door was still open.

Still has something to add

For all Brazil's impressive recent run of results (a single defeat in the last 23 games, and that at the extreme altitude of La Paz, there is a feeling that an on form Ronaldinho still has something to add to the team. Everyone saw the warning that Brazil handed out in winning the Confederations Cup. But everyone also saw their weapons. They are a team reliant on well-struck set pieces and rapid counter-attacks. Defend deep against them and they can be stifled - as South Africa managed for 88 minutes of the semifinal, and as Bolivia, Colombia and Venezuela did to earn goalless draws on Brazilian soil in World Cup qualification.

A touch of genuine quality in the final third of the field, a back-heeled ball, a devilish dribble or a genius pass to unlock a tight defence - this might come in very handy, and Ronaldinho could yet be the man to supply it.

Things have been going his way at Milan. Kaka, of course, was sold to Real Madrid. This opened the door for Ronaldinho to claim a regular place in the starting line up, and also forced a rethink on how the Milan team should play. Fortunately for the Brazilian, his compatriot Leonardo was chosen to put that rethink into practise. The new coach was a Ronaldinho ally, a man disposed to give opportunity and time for the fallen great to get his mojo back.

It happened tentatively at first - the occasional penetrative diagonal pass raised eyebrows in approval. Lately the signs have been more promising, with the hint that the old change of pace, when he accelerated up to a hidden gear and burst beyond his marker, might not be gone forever. Ronaldinho is still nowhere near the extraordinary level he reached and sustained around the 2004-05 period - but the idea of him making a contribution to the World Cup no longer looks as absurd as it did some seven months ago.

But here's the rub. Even at his glorious best Ronaldinho was accused of being unable to reproduce his Barcelona form in a Brazil shirt. His best football was produced cutting in on the diagonal from the left in that 4-3-3 system that is so much a part of Barca's DNA.

Like Messi, struggled to reproduce club form

Interestingly, an identical debate now surrounds his old friend and heir as jewel in the Barcelona attack, Lionel Messi. Magnificent week after week in his club shirt cutting across from the opposite flank, Messi looks a different, far less effective player for Argentina. Neither current national team coach Diego Maradona nor his predecessor Alfio Basile have been able to house their star player in a collective structure that brings out the best in him.

So settled and sure of their 4-3-3 are Barcelona, that even without Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic they put Inter Milan to the sword in a superb first half in a recent Champions League game. Neither Argentina nor Brazil plays that system.

But Milan now does. This has been coach Leonardo's ploy, to reproduce Barcelona's 4-3-3 and ease Ronaldinho back into that role, playing from wide on the left, that he filled with such distinction with the Catalan club.

All of which brings Dunga back to square one. When he took over back in 2006 Brazil's coach said that he was not in favour of restricting Ronaldinho to one side of the field - Basile said exactly the same about Messi. But this is where he seems happiest, with space to ping across a diagonal pass or, increasingly, try a dribble down the line. So if there is a recall, how will Dunga manage to incorporate Ronaldinho in his team? Might he be an impact substitute to be used in times of trouble against tiring defenders? Will his ego be content with such a role?

The idea that Ronaldinho is going to prove himself better than Pele would now appear dead in the water - but an intriguing and important chapter in his career might well be written in South Africa next year.