Felipão calls up Pato and Ronaldinho for friendly match.
Pato returns to the national team after competing in the London Olympics; his last match for Brazil was a friendly against Sweden in August, shortly after winning the Olympic silver medal, still under the command of Mano Menezes; the game against Bolivia will only feature players who play in Brazil.
SAO PAULO, April 2 (Reuters) - Midfielder Ronaldinho Gaúcho and striker Alexandre Pato are back in the Brazilian national team for the friendly against Bolivia on Saturday, according to the squad announced this Tuesday by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The coach also called up several newcomers for the match in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, which will feature only players who play in Brazil.
Ronaldinho, from Atlético-MG, was called up for Felipão's return game in February, where he had a lackluster performance and missed a penalty in the 2-1 defeat to England. For the games against Italy and Russia in March, the coach opted for Kaká.
Pato returns to the national team after competing in the London Olympics. His last match for Brazil was a friendly against Sweden in August, shortly after winning the Olympic silver medal, still under the command of then-coach Mano Menezes.
The striker moved from Milan to Corinthians in 2013 and has been playing well for the São Paulo team.
Felipão warned that the squad selection for the game against Bolivia would be "different" and would be limited to a few players per club so as not to harm the teams in the state championships, Copa Libertadores and Copa do Brasil.
"Parreira (technical coordinator) and I spoke personally with the coaches. They were all very receptive and collaborated so that we could bring together the 18 players," said Felipão, according to the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) website.
The call-up was made in coordination with the coach of the Brazilian Under-17 team, Alexandre Gallo, resulting in a list that includes experienced players as well as young players who were promoted from the Under-20 team.
Felipão considers the friendly against Bolivia another opportunity to observe a greater number of players. "The objective is to make the most of the match to observe players who may be called up again for the main national team," said the coach.
The national team is still looking for its first win of the year. After three matches with Felipão, they have suffered one defeat and two draws. In April, the team will play friendlies against Bolivia and Chile, and then face France and England, before their debut in the Confederations Cup on June 15th.
The friendly match against Bolivia will donate funds to the family of Bolivian fan Kevin Espada, who died during a San José vs. Corinthians match after being hit by a flare fired by Corinthians fans in a Copa Libertadores game played in February.
Twelve Corinthians fans have been imprisoned in Bolivia since then, awaiting trial as alleged perpetrators of the projectile launch.
See the list of candidates:
Goalkeepers: Jefferson (Botafogo) and Matheus Vidotto (Corinthians)
Full-backs: André Santos (Grêmio) and Douglas Santos (Náutico)
Defenders: Dedé (Vasco), Dória (Botafogo) and Rever (Atlético Mineiro)
Midfielders: Arouca (Santos), Jadson (São Paulo), Jean (Fluminense), Ralf (Corinthians), Paulinho (Corinthians) and Ronaldinho (Atlético-MG)
Forwards: Alexandre Pato (Corinthians), Leandro (Palmeiras), Leandro Damião (Internacional), Neymar (Santos) and Osvaldo (São Paulo)
(By Tatiana Ramil)