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.

Real Madrid43%

Juventus57%

Total Tweets

Real Madrid

15%

Juventus85%

Italian Tweets

Real Madrid

77%

Juventus23%

Spanish Tweets

Real Madrid

63%

Juventus37%

French Tweets

Real Madrid

58%

Juventus42%

German Tweets

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?

Real Madrid

55%

Juventus45%

English Tweets

neutral63%

positive34%

negative3%

French Tweets: Sentiment for Juventus

neutral60%

positive40%

French Tweets: Sentiment for Real Madrid

neutral47%

positive52%

negative1%

German Tweets: Sentiment for Juventus

neutral21%

positive77%

negative2%

German Tweets: Sentiment for Real Madrid

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.

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).

neutral28%

positive71%

negative1%

English Tweets: Sentiment for Juventus

neutral91%

positive8%

negative1%

English Tweets: Sentiment for Real Madrid

4034

7233

Buffon Ronaldo

UEFA Champions League fan favorite in Tweets

4034

3612

22911975

171716931664

1300124712321206115510381035878

716 672522 419 377 285 206 141 118 113 59 52

Juventus players most cited in Tweets

7233

223921492133

146813641227906 872 857

582 551 500 499 458 376 371 279 252 193 169 147 55 0

Real Madrid players most cited in Tweets

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).

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