The work behind the missing pass
Without Orkun Kökçü, Beşiktaş face a more specific question than which name fills a midfield slot. Before Crystal Palace, Italiano described the missing qualities through passing speed and the quality of play. The captain is still outside group training after a heel knock. Filling the vacant position and preserving the movement of the ball are therefore separate measures of the same selection. Occupying the same space does not by itself reproduce the same work.[1]
The attributes Italiano chose for Fabio Miretti make that distinction concrete: passing, movement, runs into the box and shooting from distance. He presented Miretti as capable of covering both Orkun’s position and function. That is the coach’s explanation before a match, rather than a verdict that the replacement has already produced an identical effect. The football question lies in the next action with the ball, not in the resemblance between two names on a team sheet.[1]
Rest as a selection constraint
The striker discussion at the same news conference introduced another constraint. Italiano recalled Oh’s two goals against Hoffenheim but explained choosing Vlahovic against Trabzonspor through rest and the absence of a trip. He is again delaying the starting 11 while assessing fatigue. Recent goals count in a player’s favor, but they do not replace an assessment of readiness for the next fixture. The calendar is part of the selection itself, not background outside it.[1]
The trade-off is clear: a rested player and a replacement passing function answer different needs. A useful way to assess the lineup is to keep the purpose of each change separate. Reducing fatigue does not automatically preserve ball circulation. Equally, a player with comparable passing qualities cannot resolve the physical condition of the whole team. Opposition pressure remains another possible explanation for how quickly the ball moves, independently of the replacement selected.[1]
The job for the next player
Italiano explained Poku’s limited minutes through the performances of the three players ahead of him. For Ümit Akdağ, he pointed to illness after international duty and missed training. One explanation concerns competition for a place; the other concerns availability. Reducing both to whether the coach trusts a player obscures the reasons he actually gave. For supporters, understanding why a player is waiting is more concrete than a general appeal for patience.[1]
Before Palace, the limits are straightforward: the starting 11 is undecided and Orkun has not returned. The expectation for Miretti belongs to Italiano. Counting missing players alone therefore says too little about Beşiktaş’s selection problem. The choice concerns how passing, movement and rest are distributed among those available. Squad depth becomes useful through that assignment of work: an additional name matters when the role given to him is clear. An observable test for Miretti is whether he moves to offer another passing option after releasing the ball. Sustaining that movement under pressure is different from doing it only in space; that distinction gives the passing role a concrete measure.[1]