Fashion Passion, Idolizing Drogba & Bond with Lewis Hamilton

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This Sports Conversation constitutes a new series where leading personalities from athletics and show business participate with host the interviewer for frank and comprehensive dialogues about football.

The program examines mindset and drive, discussing pivotal experiences, professional achievements and individual insights. This series reveals the individual beyond the athlete.

Reece James started practicing with Chelsea at the age of six and - having progressed through the academy and into the senior squad - is now team leader.

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

Now 25, James' career highlights so far include making his England debut against Wales in 2020, claiming the Champions League with his club in 2021, and being named team skipper in 2023.

Nevertheless, things have not always gone smoothly, with multiple fitness issues 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 multiple Formula One title winner the racing driver.

The interviewer: First question: identity, where you're from, and what's your coffee order?

The athlete: The name is Reece James, I grew up in the area, near Richmond - I'm sure many will know that location. My beverage is a flat white.

Kelly: Was it consistently a that particular coffee?

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

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

The defender: I mean, from childhood, it was practically my entire focus in education. I wasn't the most academic student, and I simply adored the sport.

The interviewer: What's your earliest memory of participating? Is this difficult to respond to because it represented a significant aspect of your childhood and growing up?

James: Not particularly, just because my recollection is quite poor. My earliest memory was probably, I don't know, going to watch my sibling play. He's my senior by two years than me, and he used to play as well.

The host: It was significant in your family, correct, because your father was deeply engaged? He is a soccer trainer too, right? Tell me a bit about that.

Reece: So there was three of us during childhood. We were all football mad, and he obviously was a coach as well, and we frequently practiced a lot with him.

Kelly: Can you recall a lot of those sessions? Because I read that starting from the four years old, you practiced outdoors and he conducted exercises with you in the back garden.

Reece: Yeah, I recall - the training began early. Fortunately, they paid off for me and my sibling [the club and England attacker his sister].

Kelly: Talk to me about your first ever team that you played for as a youngster, its name, and your memories?

Reece: I don't remember much, to be honest. It was the local team in Kew. I think I played for about a year. From that point that I was scouted for Chelsea.

Kelly: You didn't start as a backline player at first, correct? Talk to me about your positional journey and how that changed...

Reece: I began as a forward, and then subsequently transitioned to wide positions, left wing, right wing, and eventually to central positions, and then finally at defensive role, and I disliked it at the time.

Kelly: What caused your dislike for it?

Reece: Since I always wanted to occupy central positions. You didn't touch the ball as much but eventually it just clicked and I became a right-back since.

The interviewer: You said you started 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 player I admired.

Kelly: Identify a turning point in your career - a moment that has shaped you and the professional you have evolved into?

Reece: I'd likely identify going on loan. Transitioning between youth and first-team football is the hardest and that is probably what most players making the jump find difficult.

Kelly: You're referring to the club, naturally. What made did Wigan become the right club for you at that period? It was distant from all you knew in London - what made it successful so well?

James: The primary factor is that I featured week in week out, which helps. I gained a lot of experiences - I moved away from my companions and family and had to grow up quickly. Playing on a consistent basis helped a lot.

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

The athlete: I'd identify [Brazil defender] Thiago Silva. He's nearly sufficiently experienced to be my father and has competed at the highest level for many years. He consistently attempted to help me from the moment he arrived and continues to, even now he is departed [having left Chelsea in 2024].

The host: How specifically would he help you?

James: These were small pieces of advice off the pitch. On the pitch, he occasionally observe situations that I perceived alternatively and attempt and paint a different picture.

The presenter: It must have been nice to meet him this summer [during the tournament]?

The defender: It was wonderful to reconnect with him. I'm pleased that his club did well in the competition [they were defeated in the penultimate round to eventual winners Chelsea]. It is always good to see him.

Kelly: Were you able to return and replay a single game in your career, which would you pick?

James: Assuming the result is going to be the same - it would be the Champions League [final].

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