Capturing Lionel Messi, the introverted international soccer superstar

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RIO DE JANEIRO – Lionel Messi dodged, dipped and wove his way through the crowd in delivering a typically Messi response on a global stage.

This was an hour or so after the Argentina star delivered perhaps the strike of the tournament thus far to lift his team to a 2-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the opening game of Group F.

The defenders were now members of the media and Messi is just as nimble – if not more so – at eluding the cameras and questions as he was sidling his way past defenders.

It was a bizarre sight: One of the two best players in the world, seemingly scared to death of a group of reporters just hoping to get a sound byte out of him. He feinted left and right, covering his head with his hands as if he were being attacked and basically sprinted his way past journalists to avoid talking to them.

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This is Lionel Messi. It's as much him as the terror that so often undoes opposing defenses at Barcelona and the same guy who on Sunday nimbly wove his way between three defenders before pounding the winning goal into the left post and net from the top of the 18-yard box.

Calling him reclusive really doesn't cover it.

Every answer is concise. There are no jokes – not even his brief answers are the kind of snark that makes Gregg Popovich so entertaining. Facial expressions and general emotion are a rarity. It's all just rote.

When he is obligated to make a public appearance, it's abbreviated. Before blitzing through the "mixed zone" of journalists on Sunday, he spent a total of about 90 seconds on the press conference dais and was straight to the point. (He did allow himself to briefly opine on the support from the zealous Argentina fans that dominated Maracana Stadium, but not commenting on that would've made him seem inhuman.)

It's understandable that he's such an introvert. After all, he's the face of a nation and every little move or perceived slight caught on camera – such as when he didn't see a small child looking for a high-five and walked right past him before Argentina's win – is magnified and made into a thing.

He's got the weight of the world on his 5-foot-7 frame, carrying the hopes of a passionate, soccer-crazy nation that has taken over Rio de Janeiro for the past week and will follow him and La Albiceleste throughout Brazil as they to capture their first World Cup title since Diego Maradona famously led the nation to glory in 1986.

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The pressure to win this global event and the inevitable comparisons to Maradona, have hung over Messi's career, but that's the cost of being a legend – there's always a benchmark and you've got to beat the man to be the man (or at least tie him). "For me it’s hard, because I lived Maradona," said Argentina fan Alexis Hoffman. "Messi’s awesome but he needs to win a World Cup, or at least get to the [World Cup final]. [Maradona is] the one player who took us to the finals by himself. If Messi does that, he’ll be considered the best ever. If he doesn’t, in 20 years he’ll be forgotten and Maradona will not."

One person who won't soon forget Messi is Bosnia-Herzegovina manager Safet Susic.

His team kept Messi bottled up for the majority of the match on Sunday, devoting two and sometimes three players to keep him under wraps. But the diminutive forward still found a way through to score the decisive goal.

As Susic put it, "It is impossible to man-mark Messi for 90 minutes."

"He is one of the best players in the world not only today," said Susic, "but maybe for all time."

There's always the concern amongst Argentina fans that the team has become too reliant on Messi, and tactically, it left plenty to be desired on Sunday. But that's what happens when a legend ascends – everything tends to gravitate towards and revolve around him.

When Argentina and FIFA officials were finally able to wrangle Messi and bring him to the press conference dais, the most quote-worthy byte that came out of him also summed up quiet nature.

"What matters are the three points."

That's so Messi.