Chelsea captain Reece James shared his career history, future goals and other topics in an exclusive interview with the BBC.
Q: What is your earliest memory of playing football? Is this question difficult to answer because it was such a big part of your childhood and growing up?
Rees-James: No, it’s hard to answer just because my memory is so bad. My earliest memory is probably, I don’t know, going to watch my brother play. He is two years older than me and he used to play football.
Q: Football must be very important in your family, right, because your father is very involved? He's a football coach too, isn't he? Talk to me about that.
Rees-James: We have three kids growing up in our family. All crazy about football, my dad was also a coach and we used to train with him.
Q: Do you remember those training sessions? Because I read that as early as four years old, you would be outside and he would take you through various exercises in the back garden.
Rees-James: Yeah, I remember - the training started at a very young age. Thank God it worked for my sister, Lauren James, who plays for Chelsea and England Women, and myself.
Q: Tell me about the first team you played for as a child. What was its name? What do you remember?
Rees-James: To be honest, I don’t remember much. It's Kew Park Wanderers in Kew. I was there for about a year. That's where I was scouted by Chelsea.
Q: And you didn’t play as a defender in the beginning, right? Talk to me about your positional evolution and how that changed...
Reece James: I started out as a forward and then eventually moved out to the wing, left wing, right wing, eventually to midfield and then eventually to right back, which I hated at the time.
Q: Why do you hate it?
Reece James: Because I have always wanted to play midfield. I didn’t touch the ball that much at right-back, but one day it just clicked and I’ve been a right-back ever since.
Question: You just said that you first played as a forward. Who is your idol?
Reece James: My idol is Drogba. I grew up a Chelsea fan and he was a player I looked up to.
Q: Can you think of a turning point in your career, a moment that shaped you and the player you have become?
Rees-James: I would probably say a loan. Bridging the gap between academy and first-team football is the hardest and probably the challenge faced by most players who make the leap.
Q: Who has had the greatest influence on your career?
Reece James: I would say Brazilian defender Thiago Silva. He’s old enough to be my dad and has been playing at the highest level for so long. From the first minute he arrived, he always tried to help me and he still does, even though he is no longer in the team.
Q: In what way will he help you?
Reese-James: That's some little information off the court. On the court, he would sometimes see something different than how I saw it and try to paint a different picture for me.
Q: It will be great to see him again at the Club World Cup this summer, right?
Rees-James: It was great to see him again. I was delighted that his team performed well in the Championship (they lost to eventual champions Chelsea in the semi-finals). Always a pleasure to see him.
Q: If you could go back in time and play a game in your career again, which game would you choose?
Reece James: If the result would be the same, it would be the Champions League final.
Q: Besides winning, what was special about that night?
Reese-James: Not many people expected us to win. Manchester City are favourites. The way the game went, winning 1-0 in the final - they had their chances and they didn't take them. It is the most important trophy in club football.
Q: It was a similar situation in the Club World Cup, a lot of people were talking about PSG and the way you won that game...
Reece James: It was another final where we were not favored, but we all believed and knew we were good enough to come out on top. I think we showed that in the game and in the results.
Q: What was it like growing up with your sister Lauren? She must have shown extraordinary talent since she was a child...
Rees-James: When she was young, I didn't understand how good she was because I didn't see many girls playing football. She always played with me and the other boys, and she was better than most of them. She has come a long way in her career and is doing amazing things.
Q: I read that she trained with Arsenal Women and then was transferred to Arsenal’s men’s academy. She's talked about how she doesn't see herself as being different as a girl, she's just a football player. That must have helped her with playing with you and your brother...
Reece James: Yeah, she always played with both of us and that probably helped her technical ability and physicality.
Q: If you had a day away from football, what would your typical day off look like?
Reece James: If it’s during the preseason, I won’t leave the house because I’m too tired. I would literally stay in bed all day. If it was during the season I might go to London with my friends and see what they were up to.
Q: Football is so intense, how do you decompress?
Rees-James: When I get home, I just try not to think too much and take it in stride.
Q: Has your personality changed as you've gotten older and with everything you've been through?
Rees-James: Yes, a lot has changed. I've been through a lot of disappointments, a lot of setbacks. That changes the way you think and the way you see things.
Q: Do you think becoming captain has changed you?
Rees-James: Yeah, it benefited me - it helped me grow as a person. I need to help my younger teammates and try to improve them as players and as individuals.
Q: How would your teammates describe you?
Rees-James: Why don't we bring one of them in! That would be easier. They would probably also say that I am calm.
Q: But you are not calm on the court. I have watched you play. Reece James sitting here and Reece James as captain seem to be completely different people.
Rees-James: I'm not sure what happened. On the pitch it's all or nothing, and then off the pitch it's, whatever happens, let it be.
Q: What are you most proud of?
Reece James: Probably the trophy I won for the club.
Q: Is there any one in particular?
Rees-James: I wouldn’t pick one in particular, they all form an important part together.
Q: If you could only accomplish one more thing in the rest of your career, what would it be?
Reece James: Win the World Cup.