Orlando City lookin’ pretty after breaking Inchy Curse | Commentary

Hallelujah, it’s over.

At long last, the Inchy Curse has finally been broken by Orlando City.

Inchy, of course, is the nickname of former Orlando City coach Adrian Heath, who was unceremoniously and unpopularly fired only a year-and-a-half after City’s genesis as an MLS expansion franchise. Heath helped build the team from its infancy, coached it to a pair of USL titles and three Commissioner’s Cups.

But on Thursday night in a game billed as the “Adrian Heath Derby,” Orlando City’s beloved old coach and his Minnesota United club went down 3-1 to Orlando City’s popular new coach Oscar Pareja in the semifinals of the MLS Is Back Tournament. When Orlando City star Nani scored two spectacular goals in a matter of minutes late in the first half, he celebrated the second with a perfectly executed back flip.

I’m guessing Orlando City’s much-maligned board of directors, led by owner Flávio Augusto da Silva and CEO Alex Leitão, were doing back flips as well. They have, after all, been constantly criticized by the fan base since Heath’s firing four years ago.

Since joining MLS five-plus years ago, Orlando City has been a laughing stock and the only team in the league not to have made the playoffs in that span. It certainly hasn’t helped team management’s popularity that Heath has steadily built expansion Minnesota United into a playoff team.

That’s why this more was than just a huge victory for Orlando City; it was a seminal and symbolic moment that showed the franchise is finally getting over the cloud that has hovered over it since Heath’s departure.

“Orlando City will never be just another club to me,” Heath told me earlier this week. “It can’t be because I put so much into building it. My love and affection for the club will always be a part of me and never change.”

Heath was one of the founders of the Orlando City franchise (along with Phil and Kay Rawlins). He was there when the team was the Austin Aztex and relocated to Orlando. He nurtured Orlando City through those five formative years in the minor leagues when Orlando City won championships and built its loyal core of supporters. Then, less than halfway through his second season after Orlando City moved to MLS, the franchise’s ownership dumped him.

“We had a three-year [MLS] plan and I never got an opportunity to finish the plan,” Heath told me once. “That’s what was disappointing for me. I get that people move on [and coaches get fired]; I just felt I deserved a better and more dignified exit.”

The night Inchy was fired in 2016, the franchise lost its soul, angered its supporters and gave birth to the Inchy Curse — a litany of coaching changes, front-office chaos and roster mistakes. Nothing has gone right for Orlando City — until now.

Somehow, someway, Pareja has turned one of the worst franchises in the league into a instant success. Orlando City’s first victory over Heath propelled the Lions into Tuesday night’s championship match against Portland and gives the franchise its first chance to win a trophy since Heath’s USL days.

Heath told me before the match that beating Orlando City to get to get to the championship game would be sweeter than beating another team, and the same goes for Orlando City. Beating Inchy gives the club’s supporters even more reason to feel good about their new coach.

After five seasons, four coaches and multiple roster rebuilds, Orlando City may have finally found the coach in Pareja who can take this team to the playoffs. Since entering the Disney bubble, Orlando City has looked like a completely different team — well-drilled, confident, resilient, attacking. Almost the same roster, but an entirely different demeanor and attitude.

“This [run] means a lot,” Pareja said. “We believe now in the project even more. The compromise we’ve made is phenomenal. We now know we can win games and be protagonists.”

Even though these huge victories have taken place in a bubble, Pareja says he has seen on social media how much Orlando City supporters have relished the tournament run.

“We are isolated from the supporters, but I can see how much they are enjoying this moment,” Pareja says. “I don’t want this feeling to be something that lasts a matter of weeks; I want it to last for many years. We want to give to the Orlando community and our fans what they want and what they deserve.”

When asked before the match if it was extra motivation that his team was underdogs to Heath’s Minnesota United club, Pareja replied, “I don’t need any extra factor to motivate; I just see this as another game that represents a lot for everyone. There is no past and there is no future. It is only one game.”

One game.

One monumental game in which Orlando City conquered its past and propelled itself into the future.

Hallelujah, it’s over.

At long last, the Inchy Curse has finally been broken.

This column first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email me at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com. Hit me up on Twitter @BianchiWrites and listen to my Open Mike radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on FM 96.9 and AM 740.