 However, his style is criticized as being too selfish and lone wolf, and he sometimes gets into conflict with his teammates for various reasons.This was one of the reasons why Coach Mitsuyoshi Anzai refused to give him his approval when Rukawa told him that he intended to go to the United States, and told him to become the top-ranking player in Japan before he even thought of it.When he was outplayed by Sawakita during the match against Sannoh though, he realized that he had to change his style of play and pass the ball.