Fashion Passion, Looking Up To Drogba & Friendship with Lewis Hamilton
- Published
The Football Interview constitutes an innovative program where leading personalities from sports and show business join presenter the interviewer for frank and comprehensive dialogues about football.
We'll explore mindset and drive, covering defining moments, career highlights and personal reflections. This series reveals the person beyond the athlete.
Reece James started training with the London club 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 the Stamford Bridge faithful in impressive fashion, scoring on his debut in a comprehensive win over Grimsby Town in 2019.
Currently twenty-five, James' career highlights so far include making his England debut against the Welsh team in the year 2020, claiming the European Cup with Chelsea in 2021, and being appointed team skipper in 2023.
Nevertheless, things have not always gone smoothly, with a series of injuries impacting him over the past four seasons.
James sat down with Kelly Somers to talk about his professional peaks, the Brazilian's impact, and his relationship with multiple Formula One title winner Lewis Hamilton.
'He's nearly old enough to be my dad' - Reece James reveals Thiago Silva's impact on his professional journey
Kelly Somers: Initial inquiry: name, your origins, and what's your coffee order?
Reece James: I am Reece James, I was raised in the area, near Richmond - I expect more people will recognize that area. My coffee is a flat white.
Kelly: Has it always been a flat white?
James: Not exactly, I began with, such as, vanilla lattes and stuff.
The presenter: We'll begin by talking football. What does football mean to you?
Reece: I mean, from a little kid, it's kind of my entire focus in education. I wasn't exactly the most academic student, and I simply adored playing football.
The interviewer: What's your earliest memory of participating? Is this difficult to respond to because it was such a significant aspect of your childhood and growing up?
James: Not particularly, simply due to my memory is quite poor. My first remembrance was likely, I don't know, attending matches of my sibling play. He is my senior by two years 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 soccer trainer too, isn't he? Share with me a little about that.
Reece: So there was three of us growing up. We were all football mad, and he obviously was a coach as well, and we used to train extensively with him.
Kelly: Do you remember many of those training periods? Since I read that as young as the age of four, you practiced outdoors and he was doing exercises with you in the back garden.
James: Yes, I recall - the drills began early. Thankfully, they paid off for me and my sibling [the club and England attacker Lauren James].
The interviewer: Tell me about your first ever team that you played for as a youngster, what was it called, and what can you remember?
Reece: My recollection is limited, frankly. It was Kew Park Rangers in Kew. I think I played for about a year. It was from there that talent spotters noticed me for the professional club.
Kelly: You didn't start as a defender at initially, were you? Talk to me about your positional journey and how that changed...
James: I began as a striker, and then subsequently moved to wide positions, left side, right side, and eventually to central positions, and then eventually at right-back, and I disliked it at the time.
The presenter: What caused your dislike for it?
Reece: Because I always wanted to occupy central positions. You didn't touch the football as much but one day everything fell into place and I became a defender since.
Reece James won the prestigious trophy in 2021 when his team beat Man City 1-0 in the final in the Portuguese city
Kelly: You said you began as a forward - who was your role model?
Reece: My idol was [Didier] Drogba. I grew up as a supporter growing up and he represented the athlete I admired.
The host: Can you think of a pivotal moment in your professional life - an experience that has shaped you and the professional you have become?
The defender: I'd likely identify going on loan. Transitioning between youth and first-team football is most challenging and this represents likely what many athletes transitioning upwards find challenging.
The presenter: You're referring to the club, of course. Why did Wigan become the ideal team for you at the time? It was distant from all you were familiar with in London - why did it work so well?
Reece: The first thing is that I featured week in week out, which proves beneficial. I gained valuable exposure - I relocated from my friends and relatives and was forced to grow up quickly. Participating on a regular schedule assisted significantly.
The interviewer: Who has had the biggest impact on your career?
The athlete: I would say [the experienced Brazilian] the veteran. He is almost sufficiently experienced to be my dad and has competed at the highest level for many years. He always tried to help me from the minute he arrived and still does, even now he is not here [having left Chelsea in that year].
The host: How specifically would he help you?
James: These were small pieces of advice away from games. On the pitch, he would sometimes observe situations 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 proved wonderful to reconnect with him. I'm happy that his team performed admirably in the competition [they lost in the penultimate round to the champions Chelsea]. It's always good to encounter him.
Kelly: If you could return and replay one match in your professional history, what would you choose?
James: Assuming the result is remains the same - it would be the European Cup decider.
The host: Besides winning, what made it exceptional about that night
