Brazil coach Dunga has backed Ronaldinho to end his performance slump in the 2008 Olympic Football Tournament.

Two-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho has been a shadow of his former self in recent months, with his poor form not helped by a long-term muscle injury, and has been told by Barcelona that he is not part of their plans as they make wholesale changes after two trophy-less seasons.

Dunga has not confirmed if Ronaldinho, who has been linked with a move to Chelsea, is going to travel to Beijing as one of three overage players for the under-23 competition which begins on August 6, but is confident the 28-year-old is capable of leading the Selecao to their first gold medal.

"I always say he makes the difference," Dunga said, following Brazil under-23s 1-0 win over a Rio de Janeiro select side.

"When Robinho was in bad form at Real Madrid, we did the same. "We are protecting Ronaldinho, an outstanding Brazilian player who is experiencing difficult moments.

"The first think that must happen is Ronaldinho being the player we all knew."

Ronaldinho announced earlier on Sunday that he would like to add an Olympic title to his and Brazil's illustrious list of honours.

"The gold medal is a title Brazilian football has not achieved yet and all players dream of making history by clinching that medal," he told Globo TV.

"The Olympics are one of my dreams. I want to schedule my recovery and train hard to be in the national team as soon as possible."