Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
The French national soccer team, known as Les Bleus, takes on England at Wembley Stadium in London on Tuesday.
But it's not just any game. One of the sites hit during the Paris attacks was the iconic Stade de France in Paris, where bomb blasts caused panic among thousands of soccer fans.
Les Bleus is known as one of the most diverse teams in all of Europe. In fact, team member Lassana Diarra, who is of African descent, had family killed in the attacks and is a devout Muslim. He's vowed to take the field Tuesday in defiance of the attacks.
Historian Laurent Dubois of Duke University is the author of "Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France," and he also runs the Soccer Politics blog. He joined the show for a look at the team, and what it means to the nation of France.