In a previous post, we talked about popular World Cup search queries. It turns out that people who search for one player frequently follow that immediately with a query for another player. In this post, we explore these timely connections between queries. Below, a thick line connects Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi because a lot of people followed a search for one of them with a search for the other. A thin line connects Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona because fewer people searched for them together.
Why are some players connected while others aren�t? Here are some of our discoveries:
The world�s most popular players are well-connected. The highest paid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) is tightly connected to other popular players including Lionel Messi (Argentina), Fernando Torres (Spain), Wayne Rooney (England) and Didier Drogba (C�te d'Ivoire). These players form a nucleus connecting all the other players.
A country�s players are usually connected�but not always. For example, Arjen Robben connects all the Netherlands players. In contrast, Ronaldo connects Brazilian player Kak� to his teammates Robinho, Nilmar and Grafite. France�s players Thierry Henry and Yoann Gourcuff are likewise connected through Ronaldo.
Players in the same football club are connected. Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard play together on Chelsea but represent C�te d'Ivoire and England in the World Cup. Similarly, Steven Gerrard (England) and Fernando Torres (Spain) both play for Liverpool.
If you�re interested in exploring how players connect to each other, try searching for a player�s name using Google Insights for Search and look at the �Top searches� in the bottom left to see if other footballers are listed. For example, Clint Dempsey, the U.S. player who made the match-tying goal against England last Saturday, is connected to Landon Donovan.
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