MOST SOCCER GOALIES wait for the action to come to them. Not Jorge [HOR-hay] Campos of the Los Angeles Galaxy! 

Jorge is the best - and most colorful - goalie in Major League Soccer. His style of play is as wild as the neon jerseys he wears. 

In his first game with the Galaxy this spring, Jorge made a save. Then he streaked downfield with the ball. He passed it off, then raced back to his position in goal! 

Jorge's teammates were shocked! "He has surprised me so many times with the stuff he does," says Galaxy midfielder Cobi Jones. "I'm not really surprised by anything anymore." 

Cobi tells his friend Jorge that he is loco, which is Spanish for crazy. 



A "KID" INSIDE 

Jorge played pro soccer in Mexico for 11 seasons before he joined the Galaxy last spring. Soccer is huge in Mexico, and Jorge is one of the country's most famous pro athletes. 

He has also become very popular in Los Angeles, particularly among kids. Soccer fans love Jorge because he darts around the field like the Road Runner cartoon character - and he always has a smile on his face. 

"People tell me, 'You act like a kid!'" says Jorge, age 29. "That's because I feel like I still am a kid. The kid is inside me!" 

With Jorge in goal, the Galaxy got off to a 12-0 start. Through mid-August, Jorge was allowing a league-low 1.14 goals per game. 



SURFING AND SOCCER 

Jorge grew up in Acapulco, a vacation spot on the Pacific Ocean of Mexico. He is the seventh of eight kids. 

His father, Alvaro, owned a construction businessck. Jorge and his brothers and sisters spent a lot of time at their grandparents' nearby ranchck. Jorge often rode his horse to the beach. He would take along his favorite toys: a surfboard and a soccer ball. 

Jorge's oldest brother, Alvaro, Junior, taught him to play forward. Another older brother, Antonio, taught him to play goalie. 

Jorge's father coached a top club team in Acapulco. Jorge played on the team when he was 14. Other players were as old as 25. 

The team had plenty of forwards, so Jorge played goalie. "But I wanted to play forward, too," he says. "I begged my father. Finally, he said, 'Okay, you can try.' 

"I scored one goal. Then I scored another goal. My father said, 'Hmm. Maybe you can play forward and goalie.'" 

After that, Jorge played half a game at goalie, and the other half at forward. 


DAZZLING DUDS 

Jorge graduated from high school in 1988 and joined a pro team in Mexico City. For the first couple of seasons, he played forward. He switched to goalie in 1990, and his career took off. Jorge helped Mexico reach the round of 16 in the 1994 World Cup. And he shut

 out four teams in a row to lead Mexico to the Gold Cup championship in 1996. 

On the field he is easy to spot. Goalies don't have to wear the same uniform as their teammates. In Mexico City, Jorge began designing his own jerseys, using the brightest colors he could find: gold and purple; orange, pink, and lime green; red, yellow, and blue. 

"That's how people dress in Acapulco," says Jorge. "I like bright colors. When I wear them, it's like bringing a little bit of Acapulco with me." 



LITTLE BIG MAN 

Jorge is 5' 9" tall and weighs just 150 pounds. He is small for a goalie. But he is quick, and he can jump. He can go high, low, or sideways to block shots. 

But Jorge would rather not make a save at all. He tries to stop opposing forwards before they shoot. And he loves to take chances. Jorge often roams way out of the goalie box to try to steal the ball from taller players. Earlier 

this season, he outjumped 6'3" Alexi Lalas of the the New England Revolution for a header! 

"The forwards are much bigger than me," says Jorge. "But I move in from the side so they won't crash into me." 

Sometimes, Jorge makes a mistake when he attacks. This gives opponents an open net and an easy goal. "But overall, taking a chance is worth the risk," he says. "That's the way I play. The higher the risk, the higher the gain." 



HE PLAYS ALL DAY 

Jorge will play more than 70 soccer games this year for three different teams: the Galaxy, the Mexican national team; and Atlante, a pro team in Mexico City. 

On June 16, Jorge played for Mexico's national team and the Galaxy. First, he played goalie as Mexico tied Team USA, 2-2. The tie enabled Mexico to clinch the U.S. Cup championship. 

Later that afternoon, he played goalie and forward to help the Galaxy beat the Tampa Bay Mutiny, 3-2. More than 90,000 fans watched both games at the Rose Bowl. 

"I want to do it all," Jorge says. "I want to score goals. I want to play goalie. Most of all, I want to win."