Japan's Marcus Tulio Tanaka has added his voice to the recent chorus of complaints regarding the new World Cup ball, fearful it could prove a defender's nightmare in South Africa.
The 29-year-old centre-back scored against England in a friendly on Sunday but then cancelled out that strike with a second-half own goal before team-mate Yuji Nakazawa also put the ball in the back of his own net as Fabio Capello's side escaped with a 2-1 win.
"The ball is a problem," Tanaka said on Kyodo News. "You can't anticipate which direction it is going to go in. It is difficult for defenders to deal with and you can't take your eye off the ball until the very last second."
Goalkeepers have been the most vocal critics of the ball so far with England's David James having recently voiced concerns over the unpredictable movement of the Adidas ball while Spain's Iker Casillas of Spain and Italy's Gianluigi Buffon have also expressed their displeasure with it.
And Japan shotstopper Seigo Narazaki is in agreement with the trio, concerned with the flight of the ball in the air.
"Maybe they should stop trying to keep developing the ball and just change the look of it," he said. "The ball goes all over the place."
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