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Pose the question to any Manchester United devotee who is older about the meaning of that fateful day in May 1999, and they will tell you that the date changed them forever. It was the night when injury-time goals from Sheringham and Solskjær completed an stunning 2-1 comeback in the Champions League final against the German giants at the famous Barcelona stadium. It was also, the existence of one loyal follower in Bulgaria, who recently died at the age of 62, was transformed.

Hopes in a Bygone Era

This individual was given the name Marin Levidzhov in Svishtov, a settlement with a tight-knit community. Living in a socialist state with a love of football, he longed to changing his name to… the Red Devils. However, to take the name of a football club from the other side of the Iron Curtain was mission impossible. Had Marin tried to do so prior to the end of communism, he would undoubtedly have been arrested.

A Vow Made Under Pressure

Many seasons after the political changes in Bulgaria – on that night in May 1999 – Marin's idiosyncratic dream came one step closer to reality. Viewing the match from his simple residence in Svishtov and with United trailing, Marin made a promise to himself: in the event of a reversal, he would do anything to become known as that of the club he loved. Then, the impossible happened.

Marin fulfils his dream of visiting Old Trafford.

Years of Judicial Challenges

The following morning, Marin visited a lawyer to express his unusual request, thus beginning a long, hard battle. Marin’s father, from whom he had gained his fandom, was deceased, and the man in his thirties was living with his mother, taking on various types of work, including as a laborer on minimal earnings. He was struggling financially, yet his goal turned into a fixation. He quickly turned into the local celebrity, then was featured globally, but 15 years full of judicial disputes and discouraging rulings lay ahead.

Legal Obstacles and Small Wins

The application was turned down at first for trademark concerns: he was not permitted to adopt the name of a internationally recognized entity. Then a local judge allowed a compromise, saying Marin could alter his given name to the city name but that he was prohibited from using the second part as his family name. “But I don’t want to be associated with just a place in the UK, I want to wear the name of my favourite football club,” Marin told the court. The battle persisted.

His Beloved Cats

During breaks from litigation, he was often tending to his pets. He had many animals in his garden in Svishtov and loved them as much as the Red Devils. He christened them after United players: from Rio to Rooney, they were the best-known felines in town. Who was his preferred pet of his close friends' nickname for him? One named after David Beckham.

His attire consistently showed his allegiance.

Advances and Ethics

He achieved a further success 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 complete identity is as I desire,” he promised. His narrative resulted in financial opportunities – a chance to have supporters' goods branded with his legal name – but although he was in need, he declined the proposal because he refused to make money from his beloved team. The club's identity was beyond commercial use.

Goals Achieved and Enduring Symbols

His story was captured in 2011. The crew turned Marin’s dream of seeing the iconic stadium and there he even encountered the Bulgarian striker, the forward playing for United at the time.

Permanently marked the club badge on his brow three years later as a objection to the legal rulings and in his final years it became increasingly hard for him to keep up the struggle. Job opportunities were scarce and he suffered the death of his mother to the pandemic. But he managed to continue. By birth a Catholic, he underwent baptism in an religious institution under the name the identity he sought. “In the eyes of the divine, I am with my chosen name,” he used to say.

This Monday, 13 October, his life came to an end. It is possible that the club's determined supporter could finally find peace.