UEFA Champions League: Juventus Vs

UEFA Champions League: Juventus vs. Real Madrid: Which team is most popular on Twitter?

In the run up to the UEFA Champions League final to be held June 3 in Cardiff, fans around the world are turning to social media to share their passion for their favorite team.

Which team is the most beloved? Who are the players that fans are talking about most? And what is the general feeling? In Italy, hearts beat for Juve, while Spain supports Real, but who are fans in France and Germany pulling for to win this important match?

These are just some of the questions that Expert System is addressing in its latest analysis. Using its cognitive technology, Cogito, Expert System analyzed a sample of approximately 30,000 Tweets attributable to the most commonly used hashtags related to the Champions League match (#ChampionsLeague, #Cardiff2017, #juventus, #realmadrid, ecc.) posted online from May 19 to 31, 2017 in English, Italian, Spanish, German and French. The majority of these tweets are in Spanish (about 14,800) and Italian (11,500). Fan favorite: Juventus?

Considering tweets in all languages, Juventus appears to be the most frequently mentioned in fan comments.

However, this is not the case when we look at tweets in the individual languages. Predictably, Real Madrid is mentioned most often in Spanish tweets. It appears that the team is also popular among French and German users where it was cited 25,000 times in 14,800 tweets. In English tweets, however, Real Madrid’s advantage over Juve is minimal.

Total Tweets

Real Madrid 43% Juventus 57%

Italian Tweets Spanish Tweets Real Juventus Madrid 23% 15%

Real Juventus Madrid 85% 77%

French Tweets German Tweets

Juventus 37% Juventus 42% Real Real Madrid Madrid 58% 63%

English Tweets

Juventus 45% Real Madrid 55%

Positive sentiment prevails

It’s not surprising that the analysis of feelings expressed for Juventus in Italian tweets, and Real Madrid in Spanish tweets, reveals positive sentiment in both cases. But how do fans in Germany and France feel about the two teams? And what about tweets in English?

French Tweets: Sentiment for French Tweets: Sentiment for Real Juventus Madrid negative 3% positive positive 34% 40%

neutral neutral 60% 63%

German Tweets: Sentiment for German Tweets: Sentiment for Real Juventus Madrid negative negative neutral 2% 1% 21% neutral 47% positive 52%

positive 77%

English Tweets: Sentiment for English Tweets: Sentiment for Real Juventus Madrid negative positive negative 1% neutral 8% 1% 28%

positive 71% neutral 91%

The clear fan favorite is Ronaldo, followed by Gianluigi Buffon

Not only is Cristiano Ronaldo the player most cited in the tweets (over 7,200 appearances across the total of 14,800 tweets analyzed, considered globally in all languages), he is also the most beloved by fans. The analysis revealed a tendency for very positive sentiment for tweets with his name.

UEFA Champions League fan favorite in Tweets

7233

4034

Buffon Ronaldo

After Cristiano Ronaldo, the most cited footballer is Gianluigi Buffon, followed by two other Juventus players (Paulo Dybala, 3,612 mentions and Mario Mandzukic with 2,291). This is followed by two Real Madrid players (Álvaro Morata and Gareth Bale, respectively cited 2,239 and 2,149 times in the analysis). Isco closes the ranking of the top six most cited footballers (with 2,133 mentions).

Juventus players most cited in Tweets 4034 3612

2291 1975 171716931664 1300124712321206 115510381035 878 716 672 522 419 377 285 206 141 118 113 59 52

7233 Real Madrid players most cited in Tweets

223921492133

1468 13641227 906 872 857 582 551 500 499 458 376 371 279 252 193 169 147 55 0

Will Bale play in the finale? Fans say yes

There are only a few days left until the final in Cardiff, but great doubt about whether or not Gareth Bale will play still remains: Will he recover to play for the title in the final match? The debate has continued on Twitter. Bale appears over 1,800 times in the total of 30,000 tweets analyzed, and the word "final" is the word most associated with his name (in over 10,000 occurrences), with a propensity for positive sentiment.

Zidane featured equally with Real and Juve fans

Real Madrid coach and ex-Juventus player Zinedine Zidane is mentioned nearly equally in tweets about Juventus and Real Madrid. Considering all tweets that mention Zidane, the sentiment expressed toward him tends from neutral to positive. Keep your eye on the transfer market

Among the terms most frequently used in tweets about the Champions League, we noticed the frequent mention of “transfer market,” especially in Italian tweets. Despite the big match, it’s clear that fans are thinking ahead to next season’s negotiations.

3-4-3 football formation for Juve, 2-4-4 football formation for Real: “Fantasy formations” from Twitter

What are users’ preferences on starting lineup for the big day? Considering only the 11 most mentioned players from each team, the ideal football formation according to Twitter users sees Juventus as a balanced team, with the noticeable absence of Higuain in favor of Kean. Here is the preferred formation, according to Twitter: Buffon at the goal; Chiellini, Barzagli, Bonucci on defense; Khedira, Marchisio, Pjanic and Cuadrado in midfield; and Dybala, Kean and Mandzukic for the attack.

With Real Madrid fans, tradition prevails, even on Twitter. Real fans seem to prefer a four-point attack form for the Champions League final: Navas at the goal; Marcelo and Ramos on defense; Rodriguez, Casemiro, Kroos and Isco in midfield; and Bale, Morata, Benzema and Ronaldo for the attack.

What would happen if Allegri decided to actually deploy this formation? We’re curious … But that’s a topic for another story, maybe another analysis … ☺

Expert System created Cogito, a text analytics technology that transforms the way organizations find, comprehend and use information. Cogito leverages proprietary artificial intelligence algorithms to deliver business value and ROI by extracting actionable knowledge from internal and external information and automating business processes. Cogito has been deployed to serve enterprises and government organizations in some of the world’s largest industries (Banking and Insurance, Pharmaceuticals, Oil and Gas, Publishing and Government).