Fashion Passion, Idolizing Didier Drogba & Bond with Hamilton

• Released
  Less than an hour ago

This Sports Conversation constitutes an innovative program in which leading personalities from athletics and entertainment participate with presenter Kelly Somers for candid and comprehensive dialogues about football.

The program examines mental approach and motivation, covering pivotal experiences, professional achievements and personal reflections. The Football Interview reveals the person beyond the athlete.

The Chelsea defender began training with Chelsea at the age of six and - having progressed through the youth system and into the first team - is now club captain.

The defender introduced himself to Chelsea supporters in impressive fashion, scoring on his debut in a comprehensive win over the opposition in September 2019.

Now 25, James' career highlights to date include earning his international bow against Wales in 2020, claiming the Champions League with his club in 2021, and being named club captain in 2023.

Nevertheless, his journey hasn't been without challenges, with multiple fitness issues affecting him over recent years.

James sat down with Kelly Somers to discuss his professional peaks, the Brazilian's impact, and his friendship with seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The interviewer: Initial inquiry: name, where you're from, and what's your coffee order?

The athlete: I am Reece James, I was raised in the area, near Richmond - I expect many will recognize that location. My beverage is a specific coffee type.

Kelly: Was it consistently a that particular coffee?

Reece: Not exactly, I began with, such as, vanilla lattes and stuff.

The presenter: Let's start by discussing soccer. What does football mean to you?

The defender: Essentially, from childhood, it's kind of my entire focus in education. I wasn't the most academic student, and I simply adored playing football.

The interviewer: Your first recollection of playing? Is this difficult to answer because it was such a significant aspect of your childhood and development?

James: Not particularly, just because my memory is so bad. My earliest memory was likely, I don't know, attending matches of my brother compete. He's my senior by two years than me, and he used to play as well.

Kelly: It was significant in your household, wasn't it, because your dad was deeply engaged? He is a football coach too, right? Share with me a little about that.

The athlete: So we were three of us during childhood. We were completely soccer-obsessed, and he naturally was a coach as well, and we frequently practiced extensively with him.

Kelly: Can you recall many of those training periods? Since I learned that starting from the four years old, you practiced outdoors and he was doing drills with you in the back garden.

James: Yeah, I recall - the drills started young. Fortunately, they proved beneficial for myself and my sibling [the club and England forward Lauren James].

The interviewer: Tell me about your first ever team that you represented as a child, its name, and your memories?

The defender: I don't remember much, to be honest. It was Kew Park Rangers in Kew. I think I played for about twelve months. It was from there that I was scouted for the professional club.

The host: And you weren't a defender at initially, correct? Talk to me about your role evolution and its development...

Reece: I began as a forward, and then subsequently transitioned to wide positions, left wing, right wing, and eventually to midfield, and then eventually at defensive role, and I disliked it at the time.

The presenter: Why did you hate it?

The athlete: Since I consistently desired to play midfield. There was less involvement with the ball as frequently but eventually everything fell into place and I became a right-back since.

The interviewer: You mentioned you started as a forward - who was your idol?

Reece: The player I admired was [the legendary] Drogba. I grew up as a Chelsea fan during youth and he was the player I admired.

Kelly: Identify a pivotal moment in your professional life - an experience that has shaped you and the player you have evolved into?

The defender: I'd likely identify the loan spell. Bridging the gap between academy and first-team football is most challenging and that is probably what most players making the jump find challenging.

The presenter: You're talking about the club, naturally. Why did Wigan become the ideal team for you at that period? It was distant from all you were familiar with in the capital - why did it work so effectively?

Reece: The primary factor is that I featured week in week out, which helps. I acquired a lot of experiences - I moved away from my friends and family and had to mature fast. Playing on a consistent basis assisted a lot.

Kelly: Which individual exerted the biggest impact on your professional journey?

The athlete: I'd identify [Brazil defender] Thiago Silva. He is almost sufficiently experienced to be my father and has played at elite standard for many years. He consistently attempted to help me from the moment he joined and still does, even now he is not here [having left Chelsea in that year].

Kelly: How specifically would he help you?

Reece: It was little messages away from games. During matches, he would sometimes observe situations that I perceived differently and attempt and offer alternative perspectives.

Kelly: It was undoubtedly nice to meet him this summer [at the Club World Cup]?

The defender: It proved wonderful to reconnect with him. I'm pleased that his club did well in the tournament [they were defeated in the semi-finals to the champions his team]. It is consistently positive to encounter him.

Kelly: If you could go back and replay one match in your professional history, which would you pick?

James: Assuming the result is remains the same - it would be the European Cup decider.

Kelly: Besides winning, what was so special about that night