Fashion Passion, Idolizing Didier Drogba & Friendship with Hamilton

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This Sports Conversation represents an innovative program where leading personalities from sports and show business join presenter the interviewer for candid and detailed discussions about football.

The program examines mental approach and drive, discussing pivotal experiences, career highlights and personal reflections. This series reveals the individual beyond the player.

The Chelsea defender started practicing with Chelsea at the age of six and - after developing through the youth system and into the senior squad - is now club captain.

James announced himself to Chelsea supporters in style, netting on his debut in a comprehensive win over Grimsby Town in September 2019.

Currently twenty-five, his professional achievements to date include earning his England debut against Wales in the year 2020, claiming the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, and being appointed team skipper in 2023.

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

James sat down with the interviewer to discuss his professional peaks, Thiago Silva's influence, and his friendship with multiple Formula One title winner Lewis Hamilton.

The interviewer: Initial inquiry: identity, your origins, and your preferred coffee?

Reece James: I am Reece James, I grew up in the area, near Richmond - I'm sure more people will recognize that area. My beverage is a specific coffee type.

The host: Has it always been a that particular coffee?

James: Not exactly, I began with, such as, vanilla lattes and similar drinks.

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

Reece: Essentially, from a little kid, it was practically my entire focus in school. I wasn't exactly the most academic student, and I just loved the sport.

Kelly: What's your earliest memory of playing? Is this difficult to answer because it was such a big part of your early years and development?

Reece: Not particularly, simply due to my recollection is quite poor. My earliest memory was likely, I don't know, attending matches of my brother compete. He is two years older than me, and he also participated as well.

Kelly: It was significant in your household, correct, because your dad was so heavily involved? He is a soccer trainer too, isn't he? Share with me a little about that.

Reece: So we were three of us growing up. 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 starting from the four years old, you practiced outdoors and he conducted drills with you in the yard.

Reece: Yeah, I remember - the training started young. Fortunately, they proved beneficial for myself and my sister [the club and England forward Lauren James].

Kelly: Talk to me about your initial club that you played for as a child, its name, and what can you remember?

Reece: My recollection is limited, frankly. It was the local team in Kew. I think I played for about twelve months. From that point that talent spotters noticed me for the professional club.

The host: You didn't start as a backline player at first, correct? Talk to me about your role evolution and how that changed...

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

Kelly: Why did you hate it?

Reece: Because I always wanted to occupy central positions. You didn't touch the football as frequently but one day it just clicked and I became a right-back since.

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

James: The player I admired was [the legendary] Drogba. I was a Chelsea fan during youth and he was the player I looked up to.

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

Reece: I'd likely identify the loan spell. Bridging the gap between academy and senior level is the hardest and this represents probably 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? The location was distant from everything you were familiar with in the capital - what made it successful so effectively?

Reece: The primary factor is that I played week in week out, which proves beneficial. I acquired valuable exposure - I relocated from my friends and family and was forced to grow up fast. Playing on a consistent basis assisted a lot.

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

Reece: I'd identify [the experienced Brazilian] Thiago Silva. He's almost old enough to be my father 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 departed [having left Chelsea in that year].

The host: How specifically would he help you?

Reece: These were little messages off the pitch. During matches, he would sometimes observe situations that I saw differently and attempt and offer alternative perspectives.

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

Reece: It was great to reconnect with him. I'm pleased that his club performed admirably in the tournament [they lost in the semi-finals to the champions his team]. It's consistently positive to encounter him.

The interviewer: If you could go back and experience again one match in your professional history, which would you pick?

James: If the outcome is remains the identical - I'd select the European Cup decider.

Kelly: Other than winning, what made it exceptional about the occasion