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Ask any United devotee of a certain age about the significance of that fateful day in May 1999, and they will tell you that the night changed them forever. It was the moment when injury-time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Solskjær completed an incredible late turnaround in the European Cup final against Bayern Munich at the famous Barcelona stadium. Simultaneously, the existence of one devoted supporter in Bulgaria, who recently died at the 62 years old, took a new direction.

Hopes in a Bygone Era

That supporter was given the name Marin Levidzhov in a small Danube town, a settlement 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… Manchester United. Yet, to take the name of a football club from the other side of the Iron Curtain was an unattainable goal. Had Marin tried to do so before the fall of the regime, he would almost certainly have ended up in jail.

A Promise Forged in Drama

Ten years after the political changes in Bulgaria – on the historic evening – Marin's personal goal came one step closer to reality. Watching the final from his humble abode in Svishtov and with his team losing, 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 team he adored. Then, a miracle occurred.

Marin fulfils his dream of visiting Old Trafford.

A Protracted Court Struggle

The following morning, Marin consulted an attorney to express his unusual request, thus beginning a long, hard battle. The parent who inspired him, from whom he had learned to support the club, was deceased, and the 36-year-old was living with his mother, employed in miscellaneous roles, including as a laborer on a meager daily wage. He was hardly making ends meet, yet his goal turned into a fixation. He quickly turned into the talk of the town, then was featured globally, but 15 years full of legal battles and setbacks in litigation lay ahead.

Legal Obstacles and Small Wins

The application was denied early on for copyright reasons: he could not change his name of a internationally recognized entity. Then a presiding magistrate granted a limited approval, saying Marin could modify his forename to the city name but that he was not to use the second part as his official surname. “But I don’t want to be identified with an urban area in the UK, I want to wear the name of my favourite football club,” Marin told the court. His fight went on.

Companions in Adversity

During breaks from litigation, he was often tending to his pets. He had many animals in his outdoor space in Svishtov and loved them as much as the Red Devils. He named them all after club legends: such as Vidic and others, they were the best-known felines in town. Who was his preferred pet of Man U? One named after David Beckham.

Marin bedecked in United gear.

Advances and Ethics

Another victory was secured in court: he was permitted to include United as an recognized alias on his ID card. But still he wasn’t happy. “My efforts will persist until my entire name is Manchester United,” he vowed. His tale attracted financial opportunities – an offer to have supporters' goods branded with his legal name – but even with his monetary challenges, he rejected the opportunity because he did not want to profit from his adored institution. The Manchester United name was inviolable.

Aspirations Fulfilled and Final Acts

His story was captured in that year. The filmmakers fulfilled his wish of visiting Old Trafford and there he even had the chance to see the Bulgarian striker, the forward then at the club at the time.

Permanently marked the team emblem on his forehead subsequently as a protest against the legal rulings and in his final years it became increasingly hard for him to keep up the struggle. Employment was hard to find and he suffered the death of his mother to the virus. But he managed to continue. Born as a Catholic, he was christened in an Eastern Orthodox church under the name his desired full name. “At least God will know me with my true identity,” he often stated.

This Monday, 13 October, his heart stopped beating. Maybe at last the club's determined supporter could achieve eternal tranquility.