So yesterday I got this itch to rewatch that classic Barca vs Alavés match from 2016 – you know, the one where Messi scored that ridiculous chip? Figured it’d be easy since highlights are everywhere online. Boy was I wrong.
First I googled “Barcelona Alavés full highlights”. Got flooded with garbage: 240p fan uploads with watermark stamps big enough to cover the penalty box, “TOP 5 GOALS” compilations missing Suarez’s backheel, even tennis highlights mislabeled. Clicked through eight terrible links before my antivirus started screaming about pop-ups.
Decided to get smarter. Dug out my old laptop where I swore I saved football matches. Found a folder called “BARCA STUFF” – turned out to be 37 cat videos my niece saved in 2018. Almost gave up until I remembered that dusty external drive in my desk drawer.
Plugged it in and heard that scary clicking sound hard drives make before they die. Held my breath scanning folders:
- “Tax_Returns_2015”
- “Uni_Papers”
- Random vacation pics
- Then finally – “Football_Archives”
Scrolled past like 200 files until I spotted: “BARCA_v_ALAVES_2016_*”. Did a little victory dance that scared my cat off the couch. Fired up VLC player and… audio worked perfectly while the video froze on Piqué’s nose. Classic.
Spent an hour googling codec fixes, installed three shady media players that promised “smooth playback”, nearly bricked the laptop. Finally got it working by smashing random buttons in the settings menu – real tech genius move.
Watched the whole thing twice. Messi’s chip still looks illegal after all these years. Ended up shouting at Neymar’s missed chance like it was live, then showed my confused wife Turan’s volley five times. Wound up falling asleep on the couch around 3am with the looped highlights still playing.
Woke up with stiff neck and laptop dead. Zero regrets. Moral of the story? Back up your football files twice and always keep spare chargers nearby.