Fashion Passion, Looking Up To Didier Drogba & Friendship with Hamilton

• Released
  Less than an hour ago

This Sports Conversation represents an innovative program in which leading personalities from athletics and show business participate with presenter Kelly Somers for frank and detailed discussions about football.

We'll explore mindset and motivation, covering pivotal experiences, career highlights and personal reflections. This series reveals the person behind the athlete.

The Chelsea defender started practicing with Chelsea at six years old and - after developing through the academy and into the senior squad - is now team leader.

James announced himself to Chelsea supporters in impressive fashion, scoring on his first appearance in a 7-1 victory over Grimsby Town in September 2019.

Now 25, his professional achievements to date include making his England debut against the Welsh team in the year 2020, claiming the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, and being appointed club captain in 2023.

However, his journey hasn't been without challenges, with a series of injuries impacting him over the past four seasons.

The athlete spoke with the interviewer to discuss his professional peaks, the Brazilian's impact, and his friendship with seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The interviewer: First question: name, your origins, and your preferred coffee?

The athlete: I am Reece James, I grew up in Mortlake, near Richmond - I expect more people will recognize that area. My coffee is a flat white.

Kelly: Was it consistently a that particular coffee?

Reece: No, I began with, like, vanilla lattes and similar drinks.

The presenter: We'll begin by talking football. What does football mean to you?

Reece: I mean, from childhood, it's kind of my entire focus in school. I wasn't exactly the most academic student, and I just loved the sport.

The interviewer: Your first recollection of participating? Is this difficult to answer because it represented a big part of your childhood and development?

James: No, just because my memory is so bad. My earliest memory was likely, unsure, attending matches of my sibling play. He is two years older than me, and he also participated as well.

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

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

Kelly: Can you recall many of those training periods? Since I learned that as young as the four years old, you were outside and he was doing drills with you in the yard.

James: Yes, I recall - the training began early. Thankfully, they proved beneficial for myself and my sibling [the club and England attacker Lauren James].

The interviewer: Tell me about your initial club that you played for as a youngster, what was it called, and your memories?

The defender: I don't remember much, frankly. That was the local team in the area. I believe I was there for about twelve months. It was from there that I was scouted for Chelsea.

Kelly: And you weren't a backline player at initially, correct? Explain about your role evolution and its development...

James: I started off as a striker, and then eventually moved to the wing, left side, right side, and later to midfield, and then eventually at defensive role, and I hated it at that period.

The presenter: What caused your dislike for it?

Reece: Since I consistently desired to occupy central positions. You didn't touch the football as frequently but one day everything fell into place and I became a defender since.

The interviewer: You said you began as a forward - who was your role model?

James: My idol was [the legendary] Drogba. I grew up as a Chelsea fan during youth and he was the athlete I looked up to.

The host: Can you think of a turning point in your career - a moment that has shaped you and the professional you have evolved into?

Reece: I would probably say the loan spell. Transitioning between academy and first-team football is most challenging and that is likely what many athletes transitioning upwards find challenging.

Kelly: You're talking about the club, of course. What made did Wigan become the ideal team for you at the time? It was distant from everything you knew in London - why did it work so effectively?

James: The primary factor is that I played week in week out, which helps. I acquired a lot of experiences - I relocated from my friends and relatives and had to grow up fast. Playing on a consistent basis helped a lot.

The interviewer: Which individual exerted the biggest impact on your career?

Reece: I would say [Brazil defender] Thiago Silva. He is almost sufficiently experienced to be my father and has competed at the highest level for many years. He consistently attempted to help me from the minute he joined and still does, even now he is departed [having left Chelsea in 2024].

The host: How specifically would he help you?

Reece: These were little messages off the pitch. On the pitch, he would sometimes see things that I saw differently and try and offer alternative perspectives.

The presenter: It was undoubtedly nice to see him this summer [during the tournament]?

The defender: It proved wonderful to reconnect with him. I'm happy that his team did well in the competition [they were defeated in the penultimate round to the champions Chelsea]. It's always good to encounter him.

Kelly: Were you able to return and experience again one match in your career, what would you choose?

James: If the outcome is going to be the identical - it would be the Champions League [final].

The host: Besides victory, what made it exceptional about that night