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Ask any United devotee who is older about the meaning of May 26th, 1999, and they'll recount that the date changed them forever. It was the evening when injury-time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Solskjær secured an stunning late turnaround in the showpiece event against the German giants at the Camp Nou. Simultaneously, the existence of one devoted supporter in Bulgaria, who passed away at the 62 years old, changed forever.

A Dream Born in Communist Bulgaria

This individual was originally called Marin Zdravkov Levidzhov in his hometown, a place with a modest number of residents. Growing up in communist Bulgaria with a devotion to football, he dreamed of legally altering his identity to… the Red Devils. However, to claim the name of a football club from the capitalist west was an unattainable goal. If he had attempted to do so during the socialist era, he would almost certainly have been arrested.

A Commitment Sealed by Fate

Many seasons after the end of communism in Bulgaria – on the historic evening – Marin's personal goal came one step closer to fulfillment. Tuning in from home from his humble abode in Svishtov and with the score against them, Marin swore an oath to himself: should his team mount a comeback, he would go to any lengths to become known as that of the club he loved. Then, a miracle occurred.

A lifelong wish to walk the halls of the famous stadium came true.

Years of Judicial Challenges

The next day, Marin visited a lawyer to express his unusual request, thus initiating a difficult fight. The parent who inspired him, from whom he had gained his fandom, was long gone, and the man in his thirties was caring for his parent, employed in miscellaneous roles, including as a builder on £15 a day. He was struggling financially, yet his goal turned into a fixation. He quickly turned into the subject of gossip, then became an international sensation, but 15 years full of judicial disputes and disheartening court decisions lay ahead.

Trademark Issues and Limited Success

Marin’s wish was rejected initially for intellectual property issues: he was barred from using the title of a internationally recognized entity. Then a local judge ruled partially in his favour, saying Marin could modify his forename to Manchester but that he was prohibited from using United as his legal last name. “Yet my aim is to be identified with an urban area in the UK, I want to carry the title of my favourite football club,” Marin stated during proceedings. His fight went on.

A Life with Feline Friends

When not in court, he was often tending to his pets. He had many animals in his back yard in Svishtov and loved them as much as the Red Devils. He gave each one a name after United players: from Rio to Rooney, they were the best-known felines in town. Which was the favourite cat of his close friends' nickname for him? The feline known as Beckham.

Marin bedecked in United gear.

Progress and Integrity

Another victory was secured in court: he was granted the right to append the club name as an recognized alias on his identification document. But he remained dissatisfied. “I will continue until my entire name is as I desire,” he declared. His tale attracted commercial propositions – a chance to have fan merchandise made using his identity – but even with his monetary challenges, he turned down the offer because he did not want to profit from his favourite club. The club's identity was beyond commercial use.

Goals Achieved and Enduring Symbols

A documentary followed in that year. The production team fulfilled his wish of seeing the iconic stadium and there he even encountered Dimitar Berbatov, the national team player then at the club at the time.

He inked the United crest on his forehead three years later as a objection to the judicial outcomes and in his last few years it became increasingly hard for him to persist with his fight. Job opportunities were scarce and he lost his mother to Covid-19. But somehow, he found a way. By birth a Catholic, he got baptised in an orthodox church under the name the identity he sought. “At least God will know me with my chosen name,” he used to say.

This Monday, 13 October, his heart stopped beating. Maybe at last Manchester United’s determined supporter could at last be at rest.