Style Obsession, Idolizing Didier Drogba & Bond with Lewis Hamilton

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This Sports Conversation represents an innovative program in which leading personalities from athletics and show business participate with presenter the interviewer for frank and comprehensive dialogues about football.

The program examines mindset and motivation, covering defining moments, professional achievements and individual insights. The Football Interview reveals the individual behind the athlete.

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

The defender introduced himself to Chelsea supporters in style, netting on his first appearance in a comprehensive win over Grimsby Town in 2019.

Currently twenty-five, his professional achievements to date include making his England debut against the Welsh team in 2020, winning the European Cup with his club in 2021, and being named club captain in 2023.

However, things have not always gone smoothly, with multiple fitness issues impacting him over the past four seasons.

The athlete spoke with Kelly Somers to talk about his professional peaks, the Brazilian's impact, and his relationship with seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

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

The athlete: I am Reece James, I was raised in the area, near Richmond - I'm sure many will recognize that area. My coffee is a flat white.

The host: Has it always been a flat white?

Reece: No, it started with, like, vanilla lattes and stuff.

Kelly: Let's start by discussing soccer. What does football mean to you?

The defender: I mean, from a little kid, it was practically all I knew 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 respond to because it represented a big part of your childhood and development?

Reece: Not particularly, just because my memory is quite poor. My first remembrance was likely, unsure, going to watch my brother compete. He's two years older than me, and he used to play as well.

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

Reece: So there was three of us during childhood. It was all football mad, and he obviously was a trainer as well, and we used to train a lot with him.

Kelly: Can you recall a lot of those sessions? Since I learned that as young as the four years old, you were outside and he was doing drills with you in the back garden.

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

The interviewer: Tell me about your initial club that you represented as a youngster, what was it called, and what can you remember?

The defender: I don't remember much, frankly. That was Kew Park Rangers in the area. I think I was there for about twelve months. From that point that talent spotters noticed me for the professional club.

The host: You didn't start as a defender at first, correct? Talk to me about your role evolution and its development...

Reece: I started off as a forward, and then subsequently transitioned to the wing, left wing, right wing, and later to central positions, and then eventually at right-back, and I disliked it at the time.

The presenter: What caused your dislike for it?

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

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

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

Kelly: Can you think of a pivotal moment in your career - a moment that has influenced your development and the professional you have become?

Reece: I would probably say going on loan. Bridging the gap between youth and senior level is the hardest and this represents probably what many athletes transitioning upwards find difficult.

The presenter: You're referring to Wigan, of course. Why was Wigan the right club for you at the time? The location was distant from all you were familiar with in the capital - what made it successful so effectively?

Reece: 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 relatives and had to grow up fast. Participating on a consistent basis helped a lot.

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

Reece: I would say [Brazil defender] Thiago Silva. He is almost sufficiently experienced to be my father and has competed at elite standard for so long. He consistently attempted to assist me from the minute he joined and still does, even now he is departed [after leaving the club in 2024].

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 saw alternatively and try and offer alternative perspectives.

The presenter: It must have been pleasant to meet him recently [at the Club World Cup]?

Reece: It proved wonderful to see him again. I'm happy that his team performed admirably in the competition [they lost in the semi-finals to eventual winners his team]. It is consistently positive to encounter him.

The interviewer: If you could return and experience again a single game in your career, what would you choose?

Reece: Assuming the result is remains the identical - I'd select the European Cup decider.

The host: Other than winning, what was so special about that night