Pete Sampras Quotes

Players want to play a lot of rugby. We're walking contradictions at times in that we want to play a lot of rugby, but we don't want to play too much rugby, and we want to be available for all the big games, yet there are times when you have to sacrifice that because of game limits.

Who am I, of course, to judge them, but the Premier League must urgently think about a rest period in a European Championship or World Cup year.

It's difficult to have the Africa Cup of Nations during the season because you focus on the league, and then you go to Africa, then straightaway you come back and have to refocus in the league.

It drives me crazy when guys making $30 million are complaining about playing basketball two days in a row.

While players say they like the five-day break, they're also saying they don't like the compression that goes along with it, and that's something that is of great concern to us as well.

There is no winter break, and I think that is the most evil thing of this culture. It is not good for English football. It is not good for the clubs or the national team, and I think you should change it.

What happens when you have to use your top guys so much, they're going to hit a wall at some point, and they'll go four or five games where they just don't have the juice to play at the level that you need, and therefore your team suffers a little bit.

I think fans oftentimes get an inferior product on back-to-back games, and I think that has to be the number one thing that gets addressed for the fans and for the players - the elimination or the drastic reduction of back-to-back games.

I am of the opinion that the burden of playing games is much too high, especially for international players that also play domestically with their clubs.

The rotation system at Bayern makes it nearly impossible to play week after week, even when you're putting in some top performances.

You need to protect the best players in the country. When there is so much cricket, we must work on ways to prolong their careers.

It is not a problem to sit on the bench: absolutely not. When you have three games in a week, and you don't play, though, you have to think about it.

People talk about the drama of the set that goes on and on. But it leaves one guy exhausted for the next round, it's horrible for the players waiting to come on court, and it has the potential to mess up the schedule for everyone.

A player needs recovery time, and it isn't possible to recover from one race in an hour.

I think playing international football burns players out, but I was in and out of the England squad so never felt that.

In every sport you need a break and England seem to be the only cricket country which doesn't get one.

The International Cricket Calender shouldn't be so packed with action that it drives spectators away. Also there should be enough space between cricket events to help players recharge their batteries - not just physically but mentally too.

You can be the best coach in the world, but if you don't have the players, you cannot get results.

I only missed nine Premier League games from a possible 228 between August 2004 and May 2010.

Davis Cup, you know, does take a lot out of you over the weekend. It's tough, especially if you play all three days.

I would not want to be the Europa League in the current format, that's for sure. Thursday night games are difficult to contend with given the level of physicality we deal with in the Premier League. We struggled with it at Newcastle and we were not alone in that among the English clubs. Until that issue is addressed, no Premier League team wants to be in the Europa League. That's the reality, even if some don't want to admit it.

Clubs don't like their players going off to play international matches and you can see a scenario where they eventually start to make it more difficult for international sides to call up players.

When your four biggest tournaments all operate relatively independently, and the ATP and WTA tour operate independently, and you have Davis Cup and Fed Cup that operate independently, it makes it a tough message.

My Sister Rosa was bumped from the schedule. None of my books has ever been bumped before. It freaked me out.

It's a very easy thing to say, 'Go get a backup quarterback.' Now tell me where to get them. You just can't dial them up.