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Ask any Man United fan from an earlier generation about the meaning of that fateful day in May 1999, and the answer will be that the date was life-altering. It was the evening when injury-time goals from Sheringham and Solskjær completed an unbelievable late turnaround in the Champions League final against the German giants at the Camp Nou. It was also, the life of one loyal follower in Eastern Europe, who recently died at the 62 years old, took a new direction.

A Dream Born in Communist Bulgaria

That supporter was given the name Marin Levidzhov in his hometown, a place with a population of 22,000. Growing up in communist Bulgaria with a passion for football, he dreamed of legally altering his identity to… Manchester United. Yet, to adopt the name of a organization from the capitalist west was an unattainable goal. Any effort to do so prior to the end of communism, he would almost certainly have ended up in jail.

A Vow Made Under Pressure

Ten years after the fall of the regime in Bulgaria – on the unforgettable final – Marin's unique aspiration came one step closer to reality. Tuning in from home from his simple residence in Svishtov and with United trailing, Marin vowed to himself: if United somehow turned the game around, he would do anything to legally adopt the name that of the club he loved. Then, a miracle occurred.

Marin fulfils his dream of visiting Old Trafford.

A Protracted Court Struggle

A day later, Marin sought legal counsel to present his unique case, thus starting a grueling process. The parent who inspired him, from whom he had inherited his love of United, was deceased, and the man in his thirties was living with his mother, employed in miscellaneous roles, including as a laborer on a meager daily wage. He was struggling financially, yet his dream became an obsession. He soon became the talk of the town, then was featured globally, but many seasons full of court cases and discouraging rulings awaited him.

Legal Obstacles and Small Wins

His request was denied early on for trademark concerns: he could not change his name of a internationally recognized entity. Then a local judge granted a limited approval, saying Marin could alter his given name to the city name but that he was not to use the second part as his legal last name. “But I don’t want to be associated with just a place in the UK, I want to wear the name of my beloved team,” Marin told the court. His fight went on.

A Life with Feline Friends

When not in court, he was often tending to his pets. He had plenty of them in his garden in Svishtov and held them in the same esteem as the his team. He gave each one a name after United players: including Ferdinand and Rooney, they were the most famous cats in town. The one he loved most of Man U? One named after David Beckham.

Marin bedecked in United gear.

Progress and Integrity

Marin managed another breakthrough in court: he was permitted to include the club name as an legal alternative on his identification document. But this did not satisfy him. “I will continue until my full name is the club's title,” he promised. His story soon led to commercial propositions – an offer to have club products made using his identity – but despite his financial struggles, he declined the proposal because he refused to make money from his beloved team. The team's title was inviolable.

Goals Achieved and Enduring Symbols

A documentary followed in that year. The crew fulfilled his wish of visiting Old Trafford and there he even encountered the Bulgarian striker, the Bulgaria striker playing for United at the time.

He inked the United crest on his face at a later date as a protest against the legal rulings and in his last few years it became increasingly hard for him to continue his legal battle. Work was limited and he lost his mother to Covid-19. But against the odds, he persevered. Originally of Catholic faith, he was christened in an Eastern Orthodox church under the name Manchester United Zdravkov Levidzhov. “Ultimately, my true name is recognized with my true identity,” he used to say.

This Monday, 13 October, his time ran out. Perhaps now the club's restless soul could finally find peace.