Fashion Passion, Looking Up To Drogba & Friendship with Hamilton

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The Football Interview represents a new series in which leading personalities from sports and entertainment join host the interviewer for candid and comprehensive dialogues about football.

We'll explore mindset and motivation, discussing defining moments, career highlights and individual insights. The Football Interview reveals the person behind the player.

Reece James started training with Chelsea at six years old and - after developing through the academy and into the senior squad - is now team leader.

The defender introduced himself to Chelsea supporters in style, scoring on his first appearance in a comprehensive win over Grimsby Town in 2019.

Currently twenty-five, his professional achievements so far include earning his England debut against Wales in 2020, winning the European Cup with his club in 2021, and being named team skipper in 2023.

However, things have not always gone smoothly, with multiple fitness issues affecting him over the past four seasons.

The athlete spoke with Kelly Somers to discuss his professional peaks, the Brazilian's impact, and his relationship with multiple Formula One title winner the racing driver.

The interviewer: Initial inquiry: name, your origins, and what's your coffee order?

Reece James: I am Reece James, I grew up in the area, near Richmond - I'm sure more people will know that area. My coffee is a flat white.

Kelly: Was it consistently a flat white?

Reece: No, I began with, such as, flavored coffees and stuff.

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

Reece: Essentially, from a little kid, it's kind of my entire focus in education. I wasn't exactly the most academic student, and I just loved playing football.

The interviewer: What's your earliest memory of participating? Is this difficult to answer because it represented a big part of your early years and development?

James: Not particularly, simply due to my recollection is quite poor. My earliest memory was likely, unsure, going to watch my sibling play. He is my senior by two years than me, and he used to play as well.

The host: It was significant in your household, correct, because your dad was so heavily involved? He's a football coach too, isn't he? Tell me a little about that.

Reece: Well we were three of us during childhood. We were all football mad, and he naturally was a coach as well, and we frequently practiced a lot with him.

The presenter: Can you recall a lot of those training periods? Since I read that as young as the age of four, you were outside and he was doing drills with you in the yard.

James: Yes, I remember - the drills started young. Fortunately, they proved beneficial for me and my sibling [the club and England attacker his sister].

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

The defender: My recollection is limited, to be honest. That was Kew Park Rangers in the area. I believe I was there for about a year. From that point that talent spotters noticed me for the professional club.

The host: You didn't start as a defender at first, correct? Explain about your role evolution and its development...

James: I began as a striker, and then subsequently transitioned to wide positions, left side, right side, and later to central positions, and then finally at right-back, and I hated it at that period.

Kelly: What caused your dislike for it?

Reece: Because I consistently desired to occupy central positions. You didn't touch the ball as much but one day it just clicked and I became a right-back since.

The interviewer: You mentioned you began as an attacker - who was your role model?

Reece: The player I admired was [Didier] Drogba. I grew up as a supporter during youth and he represented the athlete I looked up to.

The host: Identify a turning point in your career - an experience that has influenced your development and the player you have become?

Reece: I would probably say going on loan. Bridging the gap between youth and first-team football is the hardest and that is probably what many athletes making the jump find challenging.

The presenter: You're referring to Wigan, of course. Why was Wigan the right club for you at the time? It was miles away from everything you were familiar with in the capital - what made it successful so well?

James: The primary factor is that I featured consistently, which helps. I gained valuable exposure - I relocated from my companions and family and had to grow up fast. Playing on a consistent basis helped significantly.

Kelly: Who has had the biggest impact on your career?

Reece: I would say [the experienced Brazilian] Thiago Silva. He is nearly sufficiently experienced to be my father and has competed at elite standard for so long. He consistently attempted to help me from the moment he arrived and continues to, presently he is departed [having left Chelsea in 2024].

The host: How specifically would he assist you?

Reece: These were small pieces of advice off the pitch. During matches, he occasionally see things that I perceived alternatively and attempt and paint a different picture.

The presenter: It was undoubtedly pleasant to see him recently [during the tournament]?

Reece: It was great to reconnect with him. I'm pleased that his club performed admirably in the tournament [they were defeated in the penultimate round to the champions his team]. It is always good to encounter him.

The interviewer: If you could return and replay a single game in your career, what would you choose?

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

Kelly: Besides victory, what made it exceptional about that night