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About the game

15-0 is a Champions League draft. Every Champions League squad since 1992-93 is in it and, from the European Cup (1955-56 to 1991-92), the last sixteen of each year: more than sixteen hundred squads and over thirty thousand player records. You build an eleven round by round and send it out to play a whole Champions League, from the league phase to the final. Fifteen matches if you finish in the top eight: win them all and that is the 15-0.

The draft

Each round rolls a random club and season, say Milan in 2004-05. You pick one player from that squad and place him in a position of your formation he can play. If you do not like the roll, you have two club re-rolls and two season re-rolls for the whole game. In free play you also sign three substitutes, who can swap with a starter if they fit his position.

Before you start you choose a formation (4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-5-2 and others) and a style: defensive, balanced or attacking. The style changes the positions and how many goals are scored and conceded.

Chemistry

Two neighbours on the pitch get on if they share something, and both raise their rating:

A player can gain at most +6 from chemistry. On the pitch, the lines between shirts show who gets on with whom.

The coach

With the eleven complete you draw a real coach from a Champions League season, with two re-rolls. His level lifts the whole team by how far his club went that year: final +3, semi-finals +2, quarter-finals +1. He also gets on with the players he managed (+4), those from his club (+3), his country (+2) and his league (+1).

The Champions League

Like today’s Champions League: your eleven joins a league of 32 real squads from the competition’s history, drawn in four pots by strength. It plays eight matches, two against sides from each pot, one at home and one away. The top eight go straight to the round of 16 and play the second leg at home; 9th to 24th play a two-legged play-off; 25th to 32nd are out. Then two-legged round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals (the side higher in the league plays the second leg at home) and a final at a neutral ground. Level ties go to penalties.

Every match is simulated from both teams’ attack and defence, and what happens in the real Champions League happens about as often: own goals (mostly by defenders, and more by the weaker ones), penalties scored and missed, and sendings-off; the side down to ten scores less and the other more. Follow it as a summary or live, with the pitch, all 22 players and the ball.

When a knockout tie ends level, you take the shootout yourself, five seconds a kick. To shoot, you place a circle in the goal and the ball goes to any point of it: the better the taker, the smaller it is (a forward’s smaller than a midfielder’s, a midfielder’s smaller than a defender’s), so a good taker can go for the top corner and a poor defender who aims tight may put it wide. In goal, you place your keeper’s circle, bigger the better he is: he stops everything inside it.

Scoring: 3 for a win and 1 for a draw, plus a bonus for the round reached (+1 for the play-off, from +2 for the round of 16 to +12 for the champions) and another +8 for the 15-0: champions without a draw or a defeat.

When you press Play you pick the format. The modern one is the one above. The classic one, the 13-0, is the Champions League of 2003-04 to 2023-24: a group of four, home and away, with the top two going through, then two-legged ties to the semi-finals and the final; thirteen matches, and winning them all is the 13-0. Classic-format games do not go on the leaderboard.

Today’s challenge

Every day there is one challenge, the same for everyone: the same rolls, a budget (each player has a price by his rating) and sometimes a rule of the day, such as Spanish clubs only, the nineties only or a set formation. Only the first attempt counts. With a Google account and a nickname, your result goes on the leaderboard.

With friends

Create a room, share the code or the link and play at the same time, 2 to 16 of you. The creator sets how long each round lasts (30, 40, 50 or 60 seconds) and can remove someone before the start. Each player has their own rolls and signs an eleven and three subs; a player signed by one is gone for the others. With the squads complete comes a special round: steal a player from a rival or take two extra rolls. Then the coach and last changes, and kick-off: a home-and-away league and a bracket by the table (1st against 8th, 4th against 5th…), with two-legged ties and a one-match final. Penalty shootouts are played live with the same circles: one places his taker’s, the other his keeper’s.

The creator can pick another mode, «Same squads» (up to 8): everyone signs from the same 14 squads, drawn at random. Each round everyone has one in front of them, signs a player and passes it on; so each ends with one player from every squad and picks first, second, third… in turn. The squads left over are shared out so the order stays as even as possible. No re-rolls and no special round; if nobody in a squad fits, you pass and the machine fills the gap at the end. Shootouts in the same round are taken one after another.

The leaderboard and the trophies

The leaderboard shows the day’s results and the best ever, for the daily challenge and for free play. Nobody can make a result up: every published game is replayed move by move in the viewer’s browser and only shown if it comes out the same. Playing earns you trophies, thirty in all, kept in your trophy case.

Frequently asked questions

What is 15-0?

A Champions League draft game in the browser: you build an eleven from real squads across the whole history of the competition and send it out to play a full Champions League. The name is the challenge: win all fifteen matches.

Is it free? Do I need an account?

It is free and you need no account to play. Only the leaderboard asks you to sign in with Google, to keep your nickname and results.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. It runs in the browser on phones, tablets and computers, nothing to install.

How is it different from fantasy football?

In fantasy football you pick players from the current season and score with what they do in real matches. In 15-0 you pick players from any Champions League squad, 1955 to today, and the matches are simulated on the spot: a whole Champions League in minutes.

Which squads and players are in it?

Every Champions League squad since 1992-93 and the last sixteen of every European Cup since 1955-56: more than sixteen hundred squads and over thirty thousand player records, with real coaches.

Can I play with friends?

Yes, 2 to 16 at a time, in a room with a code or a link: everyone drafts at the same time, then plays a league and knockouts between their elevens, with live penalty shootouts.