One of the most versatile players of his generation, Frenchman Oscar Heisserer was coveted by the Nazis in order to aid the German National team. Yet he defied them and created an everlasting legacy as a result. FP tells his story.
The Romans invaded the French region of Alsace in 58 BC and re-established it as a centre of viticulture – the study of grapes to make wine. So good was the Alsatian wine that Julius Caesar himself reportedly proclaimed it as the best in all of Gaul.
Alsace fell to the Alemanni, Germanic tribes from the upper Rhine river, as the Roman Empire declined. The Alsatian dialect which is spoken to this day is a direct descendant of the Alemanni languages. It is quite remarkable that the dialect endured even after the Franks occupied the region for centuries.