Fashion Passion, Looking Up To Drogba & Friendship with Lewis Hamilton

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The Football Interview represents an innovative program where leading personalities from sports and show business participate with presenter Kelly Somers for candid and comprehensive dialogues about the beautiful game.

We'll explore mindset and motivation, discussing defining moments, professional achievements and personal reflections. This series reveals the person beyond the player.

Reece James began practicing with Chelsea at the age of six and - after developing through the youth system and into the senior squad - is now team leader.

James announced himself to Chelsea supporters in impressive fashion, netting on his first appearance in a comprehensive win over the opposition in September 2019.

Now 25, his professional achievements to date include making his international bow against Wales in the year 2020, claiming the Champions League with his club in 2021, and being appointed club captain in 2023.

However, things have not always gone smoothly, with a series of injuries affecting him over recent years.

The athlete spoke with the interviewer to talk about his professional peaks, the Brazilian's impact, and his friendship with multiple Formula One title winner the racing driver.

Kelly Somers: First question: name, your origins, and your preferred coffee?

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

Kelly: Was it consistently a flat white?

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

The presenter: We'll begin by discussing soccer. What significance does soccer hold to you?

Reece: I mean, from childhood, it's kind of my entire focus in education. I wasn't the brightest kid, and I simply adored the sport.

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

James: Not particularly, simply due to my memory is quite poor. My earliest memory was likely, I don't know, attending matches of my brother compete. He is my senior by two years 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 football coach too, isn't he? Tell me a bit about that.

Reece: Well there was three children during childhood. We were completely soccer-obsessed, and he obviously was a trainer as well, and we used to train a lot with him.

The presenter: Can you recall a lot of those training periods? Because I read that as young as the age of four, you were outside and he was doing drills with you in the back garden.

James: Yeah, I remember - the training began early. Thankfully, they proved beneficial for me and my sister [the club and national team forward Lauren James].

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

Reece: I don't remember much, frankly. That was the local team in Kew. I think I played for about a year. From that point that I was scouted for the professional club.

The host: And you weren't a defender at initially, correct? Talk to me about your role evolution and how that changed...

James: I began as a forward, and then subsequently moved to wide positions, left wing, right wing, and eventually to midfield, and then finally at defensive role, and I hated it at the time.

Kelly: What caused your dislike for it?

The athlete: Because I consistently desired to occupy central positions. There was less involvement with the football as frequently but one day everything fell into place and I became a right-back since.

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

James: My idol was [Didier] Drogba. I was a supporter during youth and he was the player I admired.

The host: Identify a pivotal moment 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 this represents probably what most players making the jump find challenging.

The presenter: You're talking about the club, of course. What made was Wigan the ideal team for you at that period? The location was miles away from everything you knew in the capital - why did it work so well?

James: The primary factor is that I featured week in week out, which proves beneficial. I gained valuable exposure - I moved away from my companions and relatives and had to mature quickly. Participating on a regular schedule helped significantly.

The interviewer: Who has had the greatest influence on your professional journey?

Reece: I'd identify [Brazil defender] Thiago Silva. He is nearly old enough to be my father and has played at elite standard for many years. He always tried to assist me from the minute he arrived and still does, even now he is departed [after leaving the club in that year].

Kelly: In what way would he help you?

James: It was little messages off the pitch. During matches, he occasionally see things that I perceived differently and try and offer alternative perspectives.

The presenter: It was undoubtedly nice to see him recently [at the Club World Cup]?

The defender: It was great to see him again. I'm pleased that his team performed admirably in the competition [they were defeated in the penultimate round to eventual winners his team]. It's consistently positive to see him.

Kelly: Were you able to return and replay one match in your professional history, which would you pick?

James: If the outcome is remains the identical - it would be the Champions League [final].

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