Style Obsession, Idolizing Drogba & Friendship with Lewis Hamilton

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This Sports Conversation represents an innovative program where prominent figures from sports and show business participate with host Kelly Somers for candid and comprehensive discussions about the beautiful game.

The program examines mental approach and motivation, covering defining moments, career highlights and individual insights. This series reveals the person beyond the athlete.

The Chelsea defender started training with the London club at six years old and - after developing through the academy and into the first team - is now club captain.

The defender introduced himself to Chelsea supporters in style, netting on his debut in a 7-1 victory over the opposition in September 2019.

Currently twenty-five, his professional achievements to date include earning his international bow against Wales in the year 2020, winning the European Cup 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 talk about his career highs, the Brazilian's impact, and his friendship with seven-time F1 world champion the racing driver.

The interviewer: Initial inquiry: identity, your origins, and what's your coffee order?

The athlete: I am Reece James, I grew up in Mortlake, near Richmond - I'm sure many will recognize that area. My beverage is a specific coffee type.

The host: Was it consistently a that particular coffee?

Reece: Not exactly, I began with, such as, flavored coffees and similar drinks.

Kelly: Let's start by talking football. What significance does soccer hold to you?

The defender: I mean, from a little kid, it was practically all I knew in school. I wasn't the most academic student, and I just loved the sport.

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

Reece: No, just because my memory is quite poor. My earliest memory was likely, unsure, attending matches of my sibling compete. He's 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? Tell me a bit about that.

The athlete: So we were three children during childhood. We were all football mad, and he naturally was a trainer as well, and we used to train a lot with him.

Kelly: Do you remember a lot of those training periods? Because I learned that as young as the four years old, you were outside and he was doing exercises with you in the back garden.

James: Yeah, I remember - the training began early. Fortunately, they proved beneficial for me and my sister [the club and England attacker his sister].

The interviewer: Talk to me about your initial club that you played for as a child, its name, and your memories?

The defender: My recollection is limited, frankly. That was the local team in the area. I think I was there for about twelve months. From that point that I was scouted for the professional club.

The host: And you weren't a defender at initially, correct? Explain about your positional journey and how that changed...

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

The presenter: Why did you hate it?

The athlete: Because I consistently desired to play midfield. There was less involvement with the football as much but one day it just clicked and I became a right-back since.

Kelly: You said you started as an attacker - who served as your idol?

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.

Kelly: Can you think of a turning point in your professional life - an experience that has shaped you and the player you have become?

Reece: I'd likely identify the loan spell. Transitioning between academy and first-team football is the hardest and that is likely what most players transitioning upwards find difficult.

Kelly: You're talking about Wigan, of course. Why was Wigan the right club for you at that period? It was distant from all you knew in the capital - why did it work so effectively?

Reece: The primary factor is that I featured week in week out, which helps. I gained valuable exposure - I moved away from my companions and relatives and was forced to mature fast. Playing on a regular schedule assisted significantly.

The interviewer: Who has had the biggest impact on your professional journey?

Reece: I'd identify [the experienced Brazilian] Thiago Silva. He's almost sufficiently experienced to be my dad and has competed at the highest level for many years. He consistently attempted to help me from the moment he joined and continues to, even now he is departed [having left Chelsea in 2024].

The host: In what way would he help you?

Reece: These were little messages away from games. On the pitch, he would sometimes see things that I saw alternatively and try and paint a different picture.

Kelly: It must have been nice to see him recently [during the tournament]?

Reece: It proved wonderful to see him again. I'm happy that his team did well in the competition [they lost in the penultimate round to eventual winners his team]. It is consistently positive to encounter him.

The interviewer: Were you able to go back and replay one match in your professional history, what would you choose?

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

Kelly: Besides winning, what made it exceptional about that night