The Blues set for a homecoming

After two-year hiatus, Bengaluru are set to return to 'Fortress' Kanteerava

Home.

It is as comforting as it is powerful. The one place where you feel at ease, the origin point, the (0,0) of your life. So it is in sports as well.

it's been two long seasons since Bengaluru FC have stepped foot in the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. An adopted house that they've made home and part of their identity. The temple of the West Block Blues, the faithful followers, and many others who flock to the stadium in numbers to live, relive and create their shared history.

Perhaps it is rather unsurprising that the two seasons away have coincided with two of BFC's worst in their relatively short but successful history. Maybe an evidence, in retrospect, of the famed 'magic' of the Kanteerava. Bengaluru have lost just once in their last two seasons playing at Kanteerava and have put together separate 12 and 13-game unbeaten runs there.

They created history by becoming the first Indian team to reach the AFC Cup final on a brisk October night in 2016 which crackled with electricity. Sunil Chhetri and Eugeneson Lyngdoh had spoken, in the build-up to that semifinal second-leg against Johor Darul Ta'zim, about the gentle rain and good feelings that come with playing at 'home'. Carles Cuadrat, hugely successful as an assistant coach and head coach at the club, had spoken about the 'energy' in the air. Against a superior April 25 in the AFC Cup the year after, the heavens opened up to help the hosts take advantage of the conditions and carry a 3-0 lead into the second leg as the Blues scraped through with a draw in North Korea.

This is not to say that Kanteerava has not seen its share of heartbreak. There has been the ISL final loss to Chennayin FC, losing the I-League in the last minutes of the season to Mohun Bagan and an early exit in the AFC competition. Wins, losses and comebacks, all part of the shared memory at the stadium.

"We have come back so many times, that our fans, and us, we all feel that we will come back. It's the history we have made at the Kanteerava," Chhetri once said during a casual conversation.

Now, two day's removed from their homecoming, it's clear that BFC have missed it. As they launch their latest Indian Super League campaign, there is a feeling that the team is stronger but by the thousands.

"I am looking forward (to it) so much... as is the whole team. Playing at Kanteerava with fans, I can't tell you how much we missed it. You feel that scarcity. I have played for so many years but after that two years of not having them and now to get our Fortress back and faithful back. I hope they turn up in numbers," says Chhetri to DH.

For the teams starved of their usual fix of the fans' roar, the return to the home and away format is a welcome one. So much so that they are even looking forward to the away trips.

"Not only to play at the Fortress but also traveling and playing in different stadiums with fans. Now the four-hour drive after landing to reach Jamshedpur is not going to be a problem and if anyone complains I will remind them of the two years in the bubble," Chhetri says with a laugh.

"Fans are an integral part of the ecosystem. The Kolkata fans made it so special for us, a few who were with the national team, during the AFC Cup Qualifiers. Durand Cup, barring the Mohammedan (SC) game, it was a mild turnout because we were an away side," says the captain.

On Saturday, they will not be.

The fans, already at work on a new Tifo for the opening game, are set to return from the message boards to the terraces.

"Everyone is excited so I hope we don't do silly stuff. I hope we can keep our nerves and not get over-excited," says Chhetri.

Even from the other end of the telephone, Chhetri's own desire is palpable.

On Saturday, the Kanteerava - disputed, decades-old, aging brick and mortar structure rich with history - will once again don its blue cape and shine its bright lights into the night as it transforms into the 'Fortress'. To aid its team and its evergreen, footballing mortality-denying captain in their latest quest.
To be home, again.