Source: Team_Talk
Dakar dream for 'crazy head' AVB
Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admits he enjoys completely switching off from football and has spoken of his dream to enter the Dakar Rally.[LNB] Villas-Boas gave an insight into his life away from the game on Friday, admitting he was a petrol head who loved nothing better than racing motorbikes and cars in his spare time.[LNB]Indeed, the 33-year-old - who arrived at Stamford Bridge this summer with a reputation for being obsessed by football - appears to be just as passionate about motor sport.[LNB]He owns five motorbikes and is part-owner of a collection 12 cars, including some genuine classics.[LNB]Villas-Boas - who will see the vehicles when he returns to his native Portugal during next week's international break - does not just sit there and admire them either.[LNB]"I have a couple of bikes from the Dakar Rally that I own," he said, revealing he would love to enter the famous race before admitting: "It's expensive."[LNB]He added: "I'm a bit of a crazy head with enduro bikes as well, so I go into the mountains and almost kill myself![LNB]"It feels fantastic.[LNB]"It's my escape, it's my passion and you feel well. You feel the need for it.[LNB]"It is very adrenaline-fuelled.[LNB]"All of us have our passions and we respond to it in different ways."[LNB]Most top footballers are forbidden from riding motorcycles but Villas-Boas never played professionally.[LNB]"The manager escapes!" he joked, before admitting he had seriously injured himself more than once.[LNB]"My first bike was a 350. I started straight away with a heavy engine.[LNB]"I went into a national competition in Portugal and then broke my arm.[LNB]"This was in a period when I was coaching Porto's youth team."[LNB]Villas-Boas is also a big fan of professional motor sport, so much so that 24 hours after Chelsea's Premier League win over Norwich a month ago, he attended the Belgian Grand Prix.[LNB]"I like Formula One a lot," he said.[LNB]"I like most of the off-road bike competitions, enduro, motocross and trials."[LNB]Villas-Boas, who this week found himself branded 'chippy' in some quarters for his defensive response to questions about Frank Lampard's Chelsea future, admitted it was important for him to take a break from the pressures of day-to-day management whenever the opportunity arose.[LNB]"It's a very strenuous position but there's an acceptance that you have to take it and it comes with the job," he said.[LNB]"The international break is always a good time for us to go back to our passions and to our family a little bit more.[LNB]"So, I'm looking forward to the international breaks."[LNB]He added: "I have tremendous passion for the game but I don't sell myself that I live it and breathe it for 24 hours.[LNB]"I think that's a stamp that people tend to sell, a couple of them, just in terms of pretending.[LNB]"When I decide to switch off, I switch off, and I don't watch second division German football or first division German football."[LNB]Villas-Boas' final duties as Chelsea manager before the international break will be performed in Sunday's game at Bolton.[LNB]That will see him reunited with close friend Owen Coyle, with whom he studied for his UEFA pro-licence in Scotland.[LNB]Villas-Boas revealed Coyle had exploited their friendship to try to get Daniel Sturridge on another loan deal this summer but was told "absolutely not".[LNB]The Chelsea boss expects Coyle to try again in January, adding: "He has no chance."
