🎙 @Pirlo_official's virtual press conference has begun: "@sampdoria_en is a good team, they come off the back of a positive run, they have added quality to the squad. And it's never easy to play against Coach Ranieri, whom I respect a lot."

#SampJuve

Marseille’s Morgan Sanson is the latest rumoured Villa signing, with a number of respected outlets reporting the signing today, but what can the midfielder bring to Villa Park, and where would he fit into the side?

Sanson began his career with an excellent reputation and with a lot of expectation – earning10 caps for the French Under-21 side. A serious injury to his cruciate ligament, however, set the midfielder back somewhat. Since 2016, however, Sanson has stayed relatively injury free.

As a player, Sanson is a very active player. His statistical profile, compared to Ligue Un central midfielders this season, shows a healthy number of both defensive and attacking actions, a significant creative output, the will to enter the box, and a lot of ball carrying.

The big question around Sanson is that of who he would replace in our midfield. Whether it would be in preparation for Douglas Luiz to return to Man City, to compete for place with John McGinn, or to replace Ross Barkley if his deal did not become a permanent one?

Stylistically, John McGinn makes the most sense. Looking at Sanson’s profile again, this time with McGinn’s, the similarities are clear. Both players are ball-carrying, box-to-box midfielders whose passing isn’t a strength. Both can score, create, and love to enter the box.

When we started @CourtsideVC in 2016, the biggest question we faced was "Can you really generate venture returns investing in sports?". 5 years later, we have enough data to share. This is the story of how we turned our passion for sports into a business.
👇👇👇👇 👇 👇

First, some context. When I started my sports analytics software company in 2009, I was unable to raise a single dollar in venture capital. I ended up having to cobble together $10K, $25K and $100K checks from individuals to get things going.

At the time, there were no venture funds focused on this space and generalist VCs simply did not believe in the market size of sports companies. As a result, almost all of them ran to the hills when they heard the word "sports".

Even when we got to ~$10M in recurring revenue, there was nobody knocking on our door to try and give us growth capital to see if we could build something big. Ultimately, this forced us to sell short to private equity guys who destroyed the business.

Fast forward to 2016 and we felt the sports, fitness and gaming markets were on the verge of exploding - these were three places where the next generation was spending its money & yet there were no early stage funds setup to fund these entrepreneurs and strategically open doors.

WARRIORS-CLIPPERS REWATCH THREAD

Okay, thought I would get into the Warriors' unbelievable comeback win over the Clippers last night. Let's dig in.

Steph Curry's first 3 of the night came off an unnecessary Nicolas Batum gamble. Shouldn't have gone for the deflection.

This is a good use of Curry as an inbounder in ATOs. Leveraging his gravity to get Oubre a drive to the rim from a fake handoff, made easier by the Clippers not having anyone to help on the drive.

Really crafty pushoff by Curry on Patrick Beverley here. Forces Beverley under Looney's screen, and that's all the space Curry needs.

Hedging/trapping Curry has become the norm now, especially with the kind of roster Curry has to work with (i.e., average-to-below-average shooting).

I absolutely love this wrinkle they've put in to prevent hedging/trapping. Somewhat of a screen-the-screener/DHO action.

I've noticed Kerr likes to go with a 2-2-1 zone press with the 2nd unit every now and then. Really cuts into the shot clock and forces the opposing offense to rush. Case in point: Reggie Jackson doing god-knows-what and dribbling into nothingness. Warriors eventually force a TO.

🎙🔛 @Pirlo_official talks #NapoliJuve from 13:00 CET ⏰

🔴🖥 WATCH LIVE on @JuventusTV!

🎙️ @Pirlo_official: "This will be an important match for both teams. #NapoliJuve is always a great match and there are important points at stake."

🎙️ @Pirlo_official: "@arthurhromelo will be evaluated day by day, and we hope everything passes by quickly. @PauDybala_JR is continuing his recovery plan, it will depend on how he feels in the next few days."

#NapoliJuve

🎙️ @Pirlo_official: "@bonucci_leo19 is a bit tired and will train with us today, then we will evaluate whether to bring him to Naples. The same goes for @aaronramsey."

#NapoliJuve

🎙️ @Pirlo_official: "We will look at who we have in front of us and think only of ourselves and our journey. Our only goal is to win and do well."

#NapoliJuve