Style Obsession, Looking Up To Drogba & Bond with Lewis Hamilton

• Published
  Less than an hour ago

This Sports Conversation represents an innovative program in which leading personalities from sports and show business join host the interviewer for frank and detailed dialogues about football.

We'll explore mindset and drive, discussing pivotal experiences, professional achievements and personal reflections. This series reveals the individual beyond the player.

Reece James started practicing with Chelsea at six years old and - after developing through the youth system and into the first team - is now club captain.

James announced himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful in style, netting on his debut in a comprehensive win over the opposition in 2019.

Now 25, his professional achievements so far include earning his England debut against the Welsh team in 2020, claiming the Champions League with his club in 2021, and being appointed team skipper in 2023.

However, his journey hasn't been without challenges, with multiple fitness issues affecting him over the past four seasons.

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

Kelly Somers: Initial inquiry: identity, where you're from, and your preferred coffee?

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

Kelly: Was it consistently a flat white?

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

The presenter: We'll begin by talking football. 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 the most academic student, and I just loved the sport.

The interviewer: Your first recollection of playing? Is this tough to respond to because it represented a big part of your early years and development?

James: Not particularly, just because my memory is quite poor. My first remembrance was probably, unsure, attending matches of my sibling play. He's two years older than me, and he also participated as well.

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

The athlete: So there was three of us growing up. We were all football mad, and he obviously was a trainer as well, and we frequently practiced a lot with him.

Kelly: Do you remember many of those sessions? Because I read that as young as the four years old, you practiced outdoors and he conducted exercises with you in the yard.

James: Yes, I recall - the drills started young. Fortunately, they paid off for myself and my sibling [the club and England forward his sister].

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

Reece: My recollection is limited, frankly. That was Kew Park Rangers in Kew. I think I played for about a year. From that point that talent spotters noticed me for Chelsea.

Kelly: You didn't start as a backline player at first, were you? Explain about your positional journey and how that changed...

James: I began as a striker, and then eventually transitioned to wide positions, left side, right side, and eventually to central positions, and then finally at right-back, and I disliked it at the time.

The presenter: What caused your dislike for it?

Reece: Since I always wanted to occupy central positions. There was less involvement with the ball as frequently but one day everything fell into place and I became a defender since.

The interviewer: You mentioned you started as an attacker - who served as your idol?

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

The host: Identify a turning point in your career - a moment 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 most challenging and that is likely what most players transitioning upwards find difficult.

The presenter: You're referring to Wigan, naturally. Why was Wigan the right club for you at that period? It was distant from all you knew in London - why did it work so well?

Reece: The first thing is that I played consistently, which helps. I acquired a lot of experiences - I relocated from my friends and relatives and was forced to grow up quickly. Participating on a regular schedule helped a lot.

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

The athlete: I'd identify [Brazil defender] Thiago Silva. He is nearly sufficiently experienced to be my dad and has played at the highest level for so long. He always tried to help me from the minute he arrived and still does, presently he is departed [having left Chelsea in that year].

Kelly: How specifically would he help you?

James: These were small pieces of advice away from games. On the pitch, he occasionally observe situations that I saw alternatively and attempt and offer alternative perspectives.

Kelly: It must have been pleasant to see him this summer [at the Club World Cup]?

The defender: It proved wonderful to see him again. I'm happy that his club did well in the tournament [they were defeated in the penultimate round to the champions his team]. It's always good to see him.

Kelly: Were you able to go back and replay one match in your career, what would you choose?

Reece: Assuming the result is going to be the same - I'd select the European Cup decider.

The host: Other than winning, what was so special about the occasion