Fashion Passion, Looking Up To Didier Drogba & Friendship with Lewis Hamilton
- Published
The Football Interview represents a new series in which prominent figures from athletics and show business participate with presenter the interviewer for frank and detailed discussions about the beautiful game.
We'll explore mental approach and motivation, discussing defining moments, professional achievements and individual insights. This series reveals the person behind the player.
Reece James began training with Chelsea at the age of six and - after developing through the academy and into the first team - is now team leader.
James announced himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful in style, scoring on his debut in a comprehensive win over Grimsby Town in September 2019.
Now 25, his professional achievements so far include earning his international bow against Wales in the year 2020, claiming the Champions League with his club in 2021, and being named club captain in 2023.
Nevertheless, things have not always gone smoothly, with a series of injuries affecting him over the past four seasons.
The athlete spoke with the interviewer to talk about his professional peaks, the Brazilian's impact, and his relationship with seven-time F1 world champion the racing driver.
'He's nearly old enough to be my dad' - Reece James reveals Thiago Silva's impact on his career
The interviewer: Initial inquiry: name, your origins, and what's your coffee order?
Reece James: The name is Reece James, I was raised in Mortlake, near Richmond - I'm sure more people will know that area. My beverage is a flat white.
The host: Has it always been a flat white?
Reece: Not exactly, I began with, such as, flavored coffees and stuff.
Kelly: We'll begin by talking football. What significance does soccer hold to you?
The defender: I mean, from a little kid, it's kind of all I knew in education. I wasn't exactly the most academic student, and I just loved the sport.
The interviewer: What's your earliest memory of playing? Is this tough to respond to because it represented a big part of your childhood and growing up?
James: Not particularly, just because my memory is so bad. My earliest memory was likely, unsure, going to watch my brother play. He is two years older than me, and he also participated as well.
The host: It was significant in your household, wasn't it, because your dad was so heavily involved? He is a soccer trainer too, right? Tell me a bit about that.
Reece: So we were three children growing up. It was completely soccer-obsessed, and he naturally was a trainer as well, and we used to train a lot with him.
Kelly: Can you recall many of those sessions? Since I learned that as young as the age of four, you practiced outdoors and he conducted drills with you in the yard.
Reece: Yeah, I remember - the training began early. Thankfully, they paid off for myself and my sister [Chelsea and England forward his sister].
Kelly: Tell me about your initial club that you played for as a youngster, what was it called, and what can you remember?
The defender: 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.
Kelly: And you weren't a backline player at initially, correct? Talk to me about your positional journey and how that changed...
Reece: I started off as a striker, and then eventually transitioned to the wing, left wing, right side, and later to central positions, and then eventually at defensive role, and I disliked it at the time.
Kelly: Why did you hate it?
Reece: Since I always wanted to play midfield. You didn't touch the football as much but one day everything fell into place and I became a right-back since.
Reece James won the Champions League in that year when Chelsea defeated Man City by one goal in the final in the Portuguese city
Kelly: You mentioned you started as a forward - who served as your idol?
James: My idol was [the legendary] Drogba. I grew up as a supporter growing up and he represented the athlete I looked up to.
The host: Can you think of a pivotal moment in your career - a moment that has shaped you and the professional you have become?
Reece: I'd likely identify the loan spell. Transitioning between youth and first-team football is the hardest and this represents probably what many athletes transitioning upwards find challenging.
The presenter: 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 were familiar with in the capital - what made it successful so well?
James: The primary factor is that I featured week in week out, which proves beneficial. I acquired a lot of experiences - I relocated from my companions and family and was forced to mature quickly. Participating on a regular schedule assisted significantly.
The interviewer: Who has had the greatest influence on your professional journey?
The athlete: I would say [Brazil defender] the veteran. He is nearly sufficiently experienced to be my dad and has competed at elite standard for many years. He consistently attempted to assist me from the moment he arrived and still does, presently he is departed [after leaving the club in that year].
The host: How specifically would he help you?
Reece: It was small pieces of advice off the pitch. During matches, he would sometimes observe situations that I perceived alternatively and try and paint a different picture.
The presenter: It was undoubtedly pleasant to meet him recently [at the Club World Cup]?
The defender: It proved wonderful to see him again. I'm pleased that his team did well in the tournament [they lost in the penultimate round to the champions Chelsea]. It's always good to see him.
Kelly: If you could return and replay one match in your professional history, what would you choose?
Reece: Assuming the result is remains the identical - it would be the European Cup decider.
Kelly: Besides winning, what was so special about that night