The Brazilians were hammered 7-1 by Germany in the semi-final and the defeat confirmed the once great selecao were no longer a team to be feared and had instead become just another sometimes good, sometimes bad footballing nation.
They will be buoyed by recent results, however, with eight wins out of eight since Dunga took over following that drubbing.
Moreover, the famously aggressive coach -- in his second stint as national manager -- has an enviable track record in the tournament, winning it in 2007 with an understrength side in Venezuela.
This time around his side will be missing some key components with Real Madrid left back Marcelo and first-choice midfielder Luiz Gustavo withdrawing due to knocks.
Goalkeeper Diego Alves also dropped out and Chelsea midfielder Oscar was left out of the squad to give him time to recover from injury.
Neymar will be playing in the Champions League final with Barcelona and will miss the first of the warm-up games against Mexico on Sunday and the forward could also be rested for the Honduras friendly three days later.
But those withdrawals will not unduly worry Dunga, particularly given that Brazil have one of the easiest groups in section C with Peru, Colombia and Venezuela.
His squad features four uncapped players, full backs Geferson and Fabinho and goalkeepers Marcelo Grohe and Neto, and he believes the Copa America is important because it will help him fine-tune his side for the World Cup qualifiers.
Brazil have won four of the last six Copas, dating back to 1997.
(Reporting by Andrew Downie in Sao Paulo; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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