Shape descriptors applied tactical organization football

We proposed and evaluated different shapes descriptors applied to images of polygons that represent the organization of football teams on the pitch. The main idea was to establish which is the best descriptor(s) to describe the shapes of the organization of teams throughout a match. The shapes of organization (images of polygons) of the teams were represented by the image of surface area (formed by convex hull). The effectiveness of different shape descriptors was evaluated (area/perimeter, fractal area, circularity, maximum fractal, rectangularity, multiscale fractal curve - MFC), and the concatenation of all shape descriptors (except MFC), denominated Alldescriptors) in polygons corresponding to the shapes represented by the convex hull obtained from players’ 2D coordinates. As a practical demonstration, when considering the MFC as a good tool to describe the shapes of the organization of football teams, it was possible to apply it for the analysis in a football match of the Brazilian championship, presenting the shapes of organization that the teams performed during the match.