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

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The Football Interview represents a new series in which prominent figures from sports and entertainment join host the interviewer for candid and detailed discussions about football.

The program examines mindset and motivation, covering defining moments, professional achievements and personal reflections. The Football Interview reveals the individual beyond the athlete.

The Chelsea defender began training with the London club at the age of six and - after developing through the academy and into the senior squad - is now club captain.

The defender introduced himself to Chelsea supporters in impressive fashion, scoring on his first appearance in a 7-1 victory over Grimsby Town in 2019.

Currently twenty-five, his professional achievements so far include earning his international bow against the Welsh team in 2020, winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, and being named team skipper in 2023.

However, his journey hasn't been without challenges, with a series of injuries impacting him over recent years.

The athlete spoke with the interviewer to talk about his professional peaks, the Brazilian's impact, and his relationship with multiple Formula One title winner Lewis Hamilton.

Kelly Somers: First question: identity, where you're from, and your preferred coffee?

Reece James: The name is Reece James, I was raised in Mortlake, near Richmond - I'm sure many will know that area. My coffee is a flat white.

Kelly: Has it always been a flat white?

James: Not exactly, I began with, like, flavored coffees and stuff.

Kelly: We'll begin by discussing soccer. What significance does soccer hold to you?

The defender: Essentially, from a little kid, it was practically my entire focus in school. I wasn't exactly the most academic student, and I simply adored playing football.

The interviewer: Your first recollection of participating? Is this difficult to respond to because it was such a big part of your early years and development?

James: Not particularly, just because my recollection is quite poor. My first remembrance was likely, unsure, attending matches of my sibling compete. He is two years older than me, and he used to play as well.

The host: It was big in your household, correct, because your father was deeply engaged? He is a football coach too, right? Share with me a bit about that.

The athlete: Well we were three of us during childhood. We were completely soccer-obsessed, and he naturally was a trainer as well, and we used to train a lot with him.

The presenter: Do you remember a lot of those training periods? Since I read that as young as the four years old, you practiced outdoors and he conducted drills with you in the yard.

James: Yeah, I recall - the training started young. Thankfully, they paid off for me and my sibling [the club and England forward Lauren James].

The interviewer: Talk to me about your initial club that you played for as a child, what was it called, and what can you remember?

The defender: My recollection is limited, frankly. It 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: You didn't start as a defender at initially, correct? Explain about your positional journey and its development...

James: I started off as a forward, and then subsequently transitioned to wide positions, left wing, right side, and later to central positions, and then eventually at defensive role, and I disliked it at the time.

The presenter: What caused your dislike for it?

Reece: Since I consistently desired to play midfield. You didn't touch the football as much but eventually it just clicked and I became a defender since.

Kelly: You said you began as an attacker - who was your role model?

Reece: The player I admired was [Didier] Drogba. I was a Chelsea fan growing up and he was the player I looked up to.

Kelly: Identify a turning point in your professional life - a moment that has influenced your development and the professional you have become?

Reece: I'd likely identify the loan spell. Transitioning between academy and senior level is the hardest and this represents likely what many athletes making the jump find challenging.

Kelly: You're talking about the club, of course. What made did Wigan become the right club for you at the time? It was distant from all you were familiar with in the capital - why did it work so effectively?

James: The first thing is that I played week in week out, which proves beneficial. I acquired a lot of experiences - I moved away from my companions and family and was forced to grow up quickly. Participating on a consistent basis helped a lot.

Kelly: Who has had the greatest influence on your career?

Reece: I would say [the experienced Brazilian] the veteran. He is almost sufficiently experienced to be my dad and has played at elite standard for so long. He always tried to assist me from the moment he arrived and continues to, even now he is not here [having left Chelsea in 2024].

Kelly: How specifically would he help you?

Reece: It was small pieces of advice away from games. During matches, he would sometimes observe situations that I saw alternatively and attempt and offer alternative perspectives.

The presenter: It must have been pleasant to meet him this summer [at the Club World Cup]?

The defender: It was wonderful to see him again. I'm happy that his club did well in the competition [they were defeated in the penultimate round to eventual winners Chelsea]. It is consistently positive to encounter him.

Kelly: Were you able to return and experience again one match in your professional history, which would you pick?

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

The host: Besides victory, what made it exceptional about the occasion