DOG DAYS FOR BRIAN QUINN : Sockers Midfielder Has Time on His Hands as He Recovers From Knee Injury

Being a “dirt dog” is a big advantage for Brian Quinn when he’s running, slashing, cutting, darting, tackling and shooting.

But it’s a big disadvantage when Quinn is forced to undergo daily whirlpool treatments and physical therapy and relax around the house with his wife and children as his strained right knee heals.

Quinn--the Sockers’ starting midfielder and the most valuable player in the Major Indoor Soccer League championship series last season--was injured in a game against Baltimore Feb. 20.

“Quinnie is a dirt dog,” said Bill Taylor, the Socker trainer. “You know, the type of player who will get right down in there with you. He’s a tough Irish kid. The kind of kid you want to have on your side if you’re in a fight.”

And not the kind who makes a patient patient.

“I have to worry about him coming back too soon,” said Taylor, who works with Quinn twice a day at an athletic injury center. “He’s a competitor. He wants to get right back in there. He’s going to be chomping at the bit.”

Taylor said it could be six weeks before Quinn returns. Quinn could miss the remainder of the season, he said.

“He’s worked very hard and maintained a positive attitude,” Taylor said. “He’s made some progress.”

But Taylor will not allow Quinn, 26, to return too soon.

Quinn missed six games after he sprained a right ankle in a game against the Lazers on Nov. 20. When he returned, his movement was limited on the field. After games, he wore so many ice bandages he looked like a mummy.

“I think I came back too early,” Quinn said. “I wanted to get involved and get in some sort of rhythm. But I couldn’t dominate people when I came back. I was playing in games, but I wasn’t 100%. Maybe I tried to fool myself by saying it was better to be playing.”

Said Socker Coach Ron Newman: “It took Quinnie another five games after returning to get his pace and confidence back.”

Quinn says he has learned from the experience.

“I’m in a good frame of mind because I know I can’t rush this,” said Quinn, who has never been sidelined for six weeks during a season. “My attitude is good. I know I have to do the hard work.

“I’m not going to come back on a limited basis. There is no point. If your own game is not in order, it’s hard to say to others, ‘Why are you doing that?’ It’s hard to have people respect you.”

Quinn commands respect from teammates and opponents. Although he missed the six games and got off to a slow start, he was voted to the Western Division All-Star team by his peers. His selection probably had as much to do with his excellent season last year as it did with this season.

Quinn, who has only 6 goals and 11 assists in 22 games this season, scored a goal during the All-Star game.

“Then right after the All-Star game he gets injured again,” Newman said. “Dear, oh dear.”

Against Baltimore on Feb. 20, Quinn was striking the ball when forward Drago Dumbovic blocked the ball and Quinn’s foot at the same time. Quinn went down.

“I never saw him,” Quinn said. “That was more the cause of it. I knew something was wrong.”

Said Taylor: “All the mechanics for the injury were right there.”

The Sockers have the depth to compensate for the loss of a scorer, passer, defender or hustler. But in Quinn, they lost a player who does it all.

“We lost that little bit of magic when Brian went out,” Newman said. “He’ll score the incredible goal, steal the pass, turn the game around. We can’t be at the top of our game without people like that.”

Said defender Kevin Crow: “Brian is a workhorse, but he’s also able to do something offensively and creatively.”

“He has a lot of enthusiasm and a high work rate,” midfielder Cha Cha Namdar said. “He’s such a motivator. The way he hustles and fights for everything gets everyone going. When the legs don’t go and players see him buzzing, it gives them extra confidence.”

That attitude was never more evident or important than in last year’s MISL championship series. The Sockers trailed the Minnesota Strikers, 3-1, in the best-of-seven series when Quinn became increasingly vocal. He was outspoken to reporters and had heart-to-heart talks with teammates. He refused to accept quitting.

“Quinnie will have a go at his mates, even at his best friends, if he feels they need it,” Newman said. “But he really does it by example.”

In last year’s playoffs, Quinn had 13 goals and 10 assists in 15 games. In the seventh game of the championship series, Quinn scored two goals and blocked a career-high seven shots in the Sockers’ 5-3 victory.

“He’s a great team player,” said Branko Segota during the playoffs last season. “He’s the soul of our team.”

Although he was the series’ MVP, he was unable to take advantage of the honor because he had signed a contract extension after the 1984-85 season.

“In hindsight, maybe I should have played hardball with Bob (Socker managing general partner Bob Bell) after last season,” Quinn said. “I went in and bickered with him. But he kept saying there was a salary cap. No money was available.”

And nothing except some handshakes were forthcoming.

“Nothing came of it (MVP),” Quinn said. “I got some recognition from fans. People now say, ‘You’re Brian Quinn, MVP,’ rather than just, ‘You play for the Sockers.’ ”

Fans attending recent Socker games saw Quinn sitting in the stands instead of on the field wearing his familiar No. 14.

Sharon Quinn, his wife, said: “He’s not a spectator at all. On Sunday night, I had to keep settling him down. His language and everything.”

Because of his two-a-day treatments and because the Sockers have been playing at home recently, Quinn is not around the house much more than he ordinarily would be. But the Sockers will be on the road soon, and Quinn will have more free time.

One thing he says he won’t do is dwell on the past and his MVP trophy.

“It’s on a bookcase with the encyclopedias,” Quinn said. “It’s a memory. It’s a good memory. . . . But that’s history. Let’s talk about the present.”

And the future: about when Quinn will return to the lineup.