🔗 Share this article

Pose the question to any United supporter from an earlier generation about the importance of May 26th, 1999, and they'll recount that the date was life-altering. It was the moment when last-minute strikes from Teddy Sheringham and Solskjær completed an incredible 2-1 comeback in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich at the famous Barcelona stadium. That same night, the life of one United fan in Eastern Europe, who passed away at the 62 years old, took a new direction.

Hopes in a Bygone Era

That supporter was born Marin Levidzhov in Svishtov, a place with a population of 22,000. Growing up in the former Eastern Bloc with a passion for football, he dreamed of changing his name to… his beloved club. Yet, to take the name of a football club from the Western world was a futile endeavor. If he had attempted to do so during the socialist era, he would almost certainly have been arrested.

A Commitment Sealed by Fate

A decade after the fall of the regime in Bulgaria – on that night in May 1999 – Marin's idiosyncratic dream edged closer to reality. Tuning in from home from his modest home in Svishtov and with the score against them, Marin swore an oath to himself: should his team mount a comeback, he would spare no effort 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.

The Long Legal Battle

A day later, Marin sought legal counsel to present his unique case, thus beginning a long, hard battle. The parent who inspired him, from whom he had learned to support the club, was deceased, and the man in his thirties was living with his mother, taking on various types of work, including as a construction worker on a meager daily wage. He was hardly making ends meet, yet his dream became an obsession. He soon became the local celebrity, then gained worldwide attention, but a decade and a half full of judicial disputes and discouraging rulings lay ahead.

Trademark Issues and Limited Success

The application was denied early on for copyright reasons: he was barred from using the title of a world-famous brand. Then a presiding magistrate allowed a compromise, saying Marin could change his first name to Manchester but that he was could not adopt 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 told the court. His fight went on.

His Beloved Cats

When not in court, he was often looking after his cats. He had a large number in his garden in Svishtov and loved them as much as the his team. He christened them after team stars: from Rio to Rooney, they were the most famous cats in town. Which was the favourite cat of Man U? One named after David Beckham.

He was often seen in full club regalia.

Breakthroughs and Principles

Another victory was secured in court: he was allowed to add the club name as an official nickname on his personal papers. But he remained dissatisfied. “I won’t stop until my entire name is the club's title,” he promised. His tale attracted financial opportunities – a chance to have fan merchandise branded with his legal name – but although he was in need, he declined the proposal because he refused to make money from his favourite club. The club's identity was inviolable.

Aspirations Fulfilled and Final Acts

A documentary followed in 2011. The crew fulfilled his wish of experiencing the Theatre of Dreams and there he even met his compatriot, the national team player on the team's roster at the time.

He inked the club badge on his face at a later date as a demonstration against the judicial outcomes and in his last few years it became ever tougher for him to continue his legal battle. Employment was hard to find and he suffered the death of his mother to Covid-19. But against the odds, he persevered. Born as a Catholic, he was christened in an orthodox church under the name the identity he sought. “In the eyes of the divine, I am with my true identity,” he would frequently remark.

Earlier this week, his time ran out. Maybe at last the club's determined supporter could finally find peace.