Esteban Granero has some good news, a little light at the end of a long, dark tunnel in Spain, where the coronavirus crisis has left more than 21,000 people dead. "The situation is terrible," says the midfielder, a league title winner with Real Madrid, "but the curve is clearly downward now; we reached the peak on the fourth [of April] and now we're on the way down. Things shift daily but we think at the end of the month, early May, the number of cases will be very low and there will be room for optimism." Granero does not speak lightly. He has been watching the trends carefully.

Esteban Granero, who plays for Spanish side Espanyol, is CEO of AI consultancy Olocip. A head coach sees his team take the lead in a crucial match with 20 minutes remaining. One assistant advises the coach to drive his players forward, to keep attacking in the hope of a decisive second goal. The other favors more cautious tactics, dropping players back to focus on defending the narrow lead. The coach might draw on his past experience to make his decision or he might just go with instinct -- his gut feeling in that moment of what will win the match.