- Released
This Sports Conversation represents an innovative program where leading personalities from sports and show business join presenter the interviewer for candid and detailed discussions about the beautiful game.
The program examines mental approach and motivation, covering defining moments, professional achievements and personal reflections. This series reveals the person beyond the player.
The Chelsea defender started training with Chelsea at six years old and - after developing through the academy and into the first team - is now team leader.
James announced himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful in impressive fashion, netting on his first appearance in a 7-1 victory over the opposition in 2019.
Currently twenty-five, his professional achievements so far include making his England debut against Wales in 2020, winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, and being appointed club captain in 2023.
However, things have not always gone smoothly, with multiple fitness issues affecting him over recent years.
James sat down with Kelly Somers to discuss his career highs, the Brazilian's impact, and his friendship with seven-time F1 world champion the racing driver.
The defender discusses the veteran's influence on his professional journey
The interviewer: First question: name, where you're from, and what's your coffee order?
Reece James: I am Reece James, I grew up in Mortlake, near Richmond - I expect more people will recognize that location. My coffee is a specific coffee type.
Kelly: Has it always been a that particular coffee?
Reece: Not exactly, it started with, like, vanilla lattes and similar drinks.
Kelly: Let's start by discussing soccer. What does football mean to you?
The defender: Essentially, from childhood, it was practically my entire focus in school. I wasn't exactly the brightest kid, and I just loved playing football.
Kelly: Your first recollection of participating? Is this tough to respond to because it was such a significant aspect of your early years and growing up?
Reece: Not particularly, simply due to my memory is quite poor. My first remembrance was probably, unsure, attending matches of my sibling play. He's two years older than me, and he also participated as well.
Kelly: It was big in your family, correct, because your dad was so heavily involved? He is a soccer trainer too, isn't he? Share with me a bit about that.
The athlete: So there was three children during childhood. We were all football mad, and he naturally was a trainer as well, and we frequently practiced a lot with him.
The presenter: Do you remember a lot of those sessions? Because I read that as young as the four years old, you practiced outdoors and he was doing drills with you in the yard.
James: Yeah, I recall - the training began early. Thankfully, they paid off for myself and my sister [Chelsea and England attacker his sister].
Kelly: Tell me about your initial club that you played for as a youngster, its name, and what can you remember?
Reece: I don't remember much, to be honest. That was Kew Park Rangers in Kew. I believe I was there for about a year. From that point that I was scouted for Chelsea.
The host: And you weren't a backline player at initially, were you? Talk to me about your role evolution and how that changed...
Reece: I started off as a forward, and then eventually moved to the wing, left wing, right side, and eventually to central positions, and then finally at right-back, and I hated it at that period.
Kelly: Why did you hate it?
The athlete: Because I always wanted to play midfield. You didn't touch the football as frequently but eventually it just clicked and I've been a right-back since.
Reece James won the prestigious trophy in 2021 when Chelsea beat Manchester City by one goal in the championship match in the Portuguese city
Kelly: You mentioned you started as a forward - who was your idol?
Reece: My idol was [Didier] Drogba. I grew up as a Chelsea fan during youth and he was the athlete I looked up to.
The host: Identify a pivotal moment in your professional life - an experience that has shaped you and the professional you have evolved into?
Reece: I would probably say the loan spell. Bridging the gap between academy and first-team football is most challenging and this represents likely what many athletes making the jump find challenging.
The presenter: You're referring to the club, of course. Why was Wigan the ideal team for you at that period? It was distant from everything you were familiar with in London - why did it work so effectively?
Reece: The first thing is that I played week in week out, which helps. I acquired a lot of experiences - I moved away from my companions and relatives and had to mature fast. Playing on a regular schedule assisted a lot.
Kelly: Who has had the greatest influence on your professional journey?
The athlete: I'd identify [the experienced Brazilian] the veteran. He's nearly sufficiently experienced to be my dad and has played at elite standard for so long. He consistently attempted to assist me from the moment he joined and still does, even now he is not here [after leaving the club in 2024].
The host: In what way would he assist you?
James: It was small pieces of advice off the pitch. On the pitch, he occasionally observe situations that I saw differently and attempt and offer alternative perspectives.
Kelly: It must have been pleasant to meet him recently [at the Club World Cup]?
Reece: It proved wonderful to see him again. I'm pleased that his club performed admirably in the competition [they were defeated in the semi-finals to eventual winners his team]. It is always good to encounter him.
Kelly: If you could go back and experience again one match in your professional history, what would you choose?
James: Assuming the result is going to be the identical - I'd select the European Cup decider.
The host: Other than winning, what made it exceptional about the occasion
