🔗 Share this article

Ask any United devotee of a certain age concerning the meaning of that fateful day in May 1999, and they'll recount that the occasion changed them forever. It was the night when last-minute strikes from Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær completed an unbelievable 2-1 comeback in the showpiece event against the German giants at the famous Barcelona stadium. Simultaneously, the life of one devoted supporter in Eastern Europe, who recently died at the age of 62, changed forever.

Hopes in a Bygone Era

This individual was given the name Marin Levidzhov in Svishtov, a settlement with a population of 22,000. Growing up in the former Eastern Bloc with a devotion to football, he dreamed of adopting a new name to… Manchester United. Yet, to adopt the name of a organization from the Western world was mission impossible. If he had attempted to do so prior to the end of communism, he would almost certainly have faced imprisonment.

A Commitment Sealed by Fate

A decade after the fall of the regime in Bulgaria – on the historic evening – Marin's unique aspiration moved nearer to reality. Viewing the match from his humble abode in Svishtov and with the score against them, Marin swore an oath to himself: in the event of a reversal, he would go to any lengths to legally adopt the name that of the object of his devotion. Then, against all odds, it transpired.

Marin fulfils his dream of visiting Old Trafford.

The Long Legal Battle

A day later, Marin visited a lawyer to state his extraordinary desire, thus initiating a difficult fight. Marin’s father, from whom he had inherited his love of United, was no longer alive, and the man in his thirties was residing with his mom, employed in miscellaneous roles, including as a builder on a meager daily wage. He was barely getting by, yet his dream became an obsession. He quickly turned into the talk of the town, then gained worldwide attention, but a decade and a half full of legal battles and setbacks in litigation lay ahead.

Copyright Hurdles and Partial Victories

The application was turned down at first for trademark concerns: he was barred from using the title of a trademark known around the globe. Then a court official allowed a compromise, saying Marin could modify his forename to Manchester but that he was could not adopt the second part as his legal last name. “Yet my aim is to be identified with an urban area in England, I want to carry the title of my favourite football club,” Marin stated during proceedings. The battle persisted.

Companions in Adversity

During breaks from litigation, he was often looking after his cats. He had plenty of them in his outdoor space in Svishtov and cherished them equally with the Manchester United. He named them all after club legends: such as Vidic and others, they were the most famous cats in town. Which was the favourite cat of the name they used? A kitty called Beckham.

He was often seen in full club regalia.

Breakthroughs and Principles

Marin managed another breakthrough in court: he was permitted to include the club name as an recognized alias on his ID card. But this did not satisfy him. “My efforts will persist until my full name is as I desire,” he declared. His narrative resulted in business offers – a chance to have fan merchandise made using his identity – but although he was in need, he declined the proposal because he did not want to profit from his favourite club. The club's identity was inviolable.

Goals Achieved and Enduring Symbols

A documentary followed in that year. The production team turned Marin’s dream of visiting Old Trafford and there he even encountered Dimitar Berbatov, the Bulgaria striker on the team's roster at the time.

Marin tattooed the United crest on his face subsequently as a objection to the judicial outcomes and in his final years it became more and more difficult for him to continue his legal battle. Employment was hard to find and he was bereaved to the pandemic. But he managed to continue. Born as a Catholic, he got baptised in an religious institution under the name Manchester United Zdravkov Levidzhov. “At least God will know me with my real name,” he often stated.

Earlier this week, his life came to an end. Maybe at last the club's determined supporter could at last be at rest.