Loons owner Bill McGuire, a former doctor, takes sympathetic and supportive approach to player injuries

Minnesota United FC owner Bill McGuire stands before the Loon "crest" as Minnesota United FC announces it's joining Major League Soccer, at a ceremony at CHS Field in St. Paul on Aug. 19, 2016.

By Andy Greder / St. Paul Pioneer Press

August 26, 2023 at 7:03 PM

Former Minnesota United forward Pablo Campos had already formed a personal connection with club owner Bill McGuire by 2014, but the native Texan and Brazilian became friends after the Loons’ goal-scorer tore knee ligaments that spring.

With Campos sidelined for months and the Loons continuing to play North American Soccer League matches, Campos always sat next to McGuire on the bleacher seats in Blaine.

“We would talk about soccer; everything that was going on in that game,” Campos told the Pioneer Press. “I shared the players’ point of view and I understood the owner point of view.”

Their relationship grew when Dr. McGuire, a former physician and ex-CEO of UnitedHeath Group, went above and beyond to support Campos with his surgery and recovery. Campos was free to seek multiple medical opinions, and picked the location he felt most comfortable to do his rehab, opting for his native country.

“It was prime service and taking care of the player was top notch,” said Campos, who lives in Minnetonka and works in multiple soccer enterprises. “They provided me with everything I needed. I think the guy that knows best about your body, it’s your own self. They trusted that and really supported me.”

From Campos onward, McGuire has tried to be present and sympathetic for his players when they go down with serious injuries. He knows this is the players’ livelihood, and his bedside manner has extended in the previous year to at least four current Loons players — Robin Lod, Hassani Dotson, Bakaye Dibassy and Kervin Arriaga.

“They are our family,” McGuire said. “It’s also our obligation to help them and their families. It makes a difference. … They’ve made a commitment to us, and I think we make the commitment to them.”

McGuire was in the hospital the day Lod had surgery on his meniscus in May. “It was nice to see him come and support,” the Finnish midfielder said. “He has been actively seeing where we are” in the rehab process.

McGuire was present when Arriaga had his meniscus surgery in early August, and it gave Arriaga’s newlywed wife some peace of mind.

Dotson doesn’t recall if McGuire was in the surgery room when he had his anterior cruciate ligament fixed in May 2022. “I wasn’t awake for that,” Dotson joked, but he confirmed McGuire was around to see him during rehab a year ago.

“It meant a lot when he would … give me some words of encouragement and when I’d see him before the games,” Dotson said.

McGuire also admired how Dibassy was able to recover from a “big, nasty injury” — a ruptured quadriceps tendon in his right leg in August 2022.

“He worked his butt off,” McGuire said of the French center back. “Our medical folks were all over that and keeping track of what he was doing (during a rehab stint in France) and the kid came back and he plays. He’s a great person. He’s just as good a human being as you could ever hope to see.”

McGuire acknowledges there are elements of self-interest involved as well.

“The medical part I know a little bit about, although not about orthopedics,” he said. “I have great respect for the people that are doing the work, the job they have done and the time they devote to our players. They do a great job.”

As a competitor, McGuire also wants to see his players back on the pitch to help the Loons win. But he said he doesn’t advocate for rushed rehabs.

“Could a player push a little and get back a week early? Two weeks early? Yeah. Sometimes, it’s not the best thing,” he said. “And so I think just knowing a little more as we go along helps.”

Campos made a speedy, six-month recovery from ACL and MCL repairs to play at the end of the 2014 season. But first McGuire and the club set up a friendly to see if Campos was ready to come back. He proved he was when he scored four goals in the match.

The Campos and McGuire friendship continues. The pair sat down at Allianz Field and watched the Loons’ 1-1 draw with Los Angles FC together on July 15. It was like old times.

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