Given that the international break meant Tite's first squad for Brazil's latest round of World Cup qualifying, it looked pretty certain that the new manager would at least follow some of his predecessor's methods. It was expected that the purge of players deemed to "symbolize" the darkest hour in the history of the Selecao, that drubbing at the hands of Germany in the 2014 World Cup, would continue, even though Dunga still selected David Luiz playing for more than year and that it took the calamity of a game against Uruguay for his patience to finally run out.
Tite, however, has plans for some of those "marked men." His squad for the games against Bolivia and Venezuela, theoretically the easiest opponents in this campaign, will feature some names who looked done and dusted -- in particular Thiago Silva.
The PSG captain has received the mother of all reprieves at a time when his inclusion is far from unanimous. While he is arguably the most technical defender available to the manager, his credentials took a beating not only at the World Cup -- his tears and that silly yellow card that saw him suspended for the semifinal against Germany -- but also with a poor display in the 2015 Copa America quarterfinal against Paraguay, a game in which he gave away a penalty that many Sunday League defenders would find embarrassing.
Tite, however, didn't consider the case closed. "After I was appointed by the Brazilian Football Confederation, one of the first things I did was call Thiago. I didn't want to talk about the past; what interests me is the future. And he spoke with happiness about the Selecao," said the manager in a recent press conference.
If you believe the rumors in Brazilian media, Silva very narrowly missed out on a place in the Olympic squad as one of the wild cards but PSG vetoed the decision having already begrudgingly released Marquinhos. His club teammate ended up winning gold and pretty much earned a starting place that seemed out of reach in the days when Luiz Felipe Scolari and Dunga were in charge. At least this Thursday against Bolivia, Silva will be watching Marquinhos and Miranda from the bench. Brazil will then travel to Merida to face Venezuela on Tuesday.
Also back again is Oscar, whose heroic goal against the Germans in Belo Horizonte wasn't enough to erase lackluster performances and an impression of omission when Brazil needed him the most after Neymar's injury. His form for Chelsea is far from marvelous these days, but pundits in Brazil speculate that Tite wants to test Oscar's meddle in one of the problematic areas for the Selecao: support for the strikers. If it is more likely that Zenit's Giuliano will be playing alongside Renato Augusto at the Arena das Dunas in Natal against Bolivia, Tite will be tempted to observe the Chelsea man over the two games.
"I am always evaluating the players and now that the European season has started properly, I can bring more players in. I have spoken to Antonio Comte about Oscar. He has been playing in a different role for Chelsea, especially in attack," Tite explains.
Of the three big-name returning players, Fernandinho could be the only recall considered a "no-brainer." Despite sinking from national team selection with the others two years ago, the Man City midfielder is enjoying a renaissance under Pep Guardiola, who very recently declared to the British media that he wished he had a clone of the 31-year-old "so that they could win the Premier League."
Fernandinho is also experienced enough to hit the ground running at a time when Tite needs an immediate replacement for the injured Casemiro. The manager had envisaged a different role for the City man at the team: unlike in the Big Phil days, in which he would form a defensive midfield barrier, Fernandinho is expected to play a bit more like a libero, just as under Guardiola.
"Listen, I will do what the manager tells me too. I am chuffed enough to have another opportunity in the team and I want to help," Fernandinho told ESPN FC right before boarding his flight to Brazil earlier this week.
Still, when you look at Tite's roster, the remains of the "class of 2014" are scarce. Just seven players who took part in the last World Cup are still in the mix and only Neymar, Dani Alves and Paulinho have been starters so far. The same could be said about Willian but the Chelsea man has been one of the few disappointments so far in the Tite era, as Philippe Coutinho looks set to occupy his role in attack instead.
The three new arrivals will have to earn a place, that's for sure, but their respective returns to the fold are under very different circumstances. For a start, Brazil seem to have found their stride after stumbling out of the blocks in this long qualifying quest. Six points from these two games will give the team a good cushion to stop worrying about safe passage to Russia and instead start planning what they expect to do in two years' time.
So far, the proverbial panic stations are quiet.