Historical Arena: your squad, different seasons

Choose your team first

The second large button on the home screen opens Historical Arena. Use your current draft squad, choose another saved squad or start a new draft. An Arena squad has 11 starters and four substitutes. After drafting, Return to the arena with this squad takes you to opponent selection.

This mode is not an online manager league. You do not wait for other players or a scheduled match time. Choose your opponents and start the matches whenever you are ready.

Choose both a club and a season

Each row in the opponent archive combines a club and a season. Different years of the same club are separate opponents. For example, selecting Bursaspor's 2009/10 season is different from choosing a squad assembled from another year of that club.

1. Narrow the list with the club filter.
2. Use the season filter to choose the year you want to face.
3. Optionally enable the champions filter or search by club and player names.
4. Open the squad details to inspect your opponent's formation and players.

The archive represents club seasons from 2000–2025 using game cards. A season squad is not an exact record of the starting XI from a particular real match. Ratings and match results belong to the game simulation.

Three formats, three ways to experiment

Single match

Choose one opponent and play. This is the quickest way to try a new formation or see your squad face a specific season team. The result does not prove your team is better or worse in every situation; match events also affect the outcome.

Knockout cup

Choose a selection of opponents and progress through the rounds. A single match matters more in a cup. Consider the substitutes you can use in different situations as well as your starting XI.

League

Play a series against multiple opponents and follow fixtures and results in the match centre. This offers a broader sample than one match for observing how your squad performs against different opponents.

My squad and the match centre

The My squad tab shows your pitch layout, starting XI and substitutes together. Use Edit tactics to explore the available options. Change squad lets you try a different saved team.

The match centre shows the active tournament's progress. If your series is saved, use Continue when you return to the Arena. Arena progress is stored in this browser; clearing site data or switching devices does not transfer your local series.

A simple plan for your first attempt

Start with one season team you know. Put your players in their natural positions and play the first match with a balanced plan. Then try changing one formation or game-plan choice rather than several things at once. Look at how chances develop as well as the score.

This approach does not guarantee wins, but it helps you understand what each change adds to your game. For more detail, see the formation and tactics guide .