But Jimmy you can't tell me it's not logical:
Say you're a coach, and you need only a winger. You want the club to get you Messi, and instead get you someone like Nani, who is a decent winger, but it 1/4 player Messi is. So the first one fits the bill, but you won't consider him the same as with Messi, because you're not sure whether Nani will do good enough or not, while you're confident Messi will be great, because that's who you asked for.
I don't think it's unlike scenario. Again, just because Hleb would be the player Jose asked, doesn't mean he fits in 100% what Jose asked for. If Sneijder is number 1 on the list, and Hleb is number 10 on the list, he doesn't rate Hleb as much as he would rate Sneijder, thus he won't give Hleb the same position in the team as he would give to Sneijder.