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Inquire of any United devotee from an earlier generation about the significance of 26 May 1999, and they will tell you that the occasion changed them forever. It was the evening when dramatic late goals from Teddy Sheringham and Solskjær secured an unbelievable 2-1 comeback in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich at the famous Barcelona stadium. That same night, the existence of one United fan in Eastern Europe, who has died 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 community with a tight-knit community. Growing up in the former Eastern Bloc with a devotion to football, he aspired to adopting a new name to… Manchester United. But, to adopt the name of a organization from the capitalist west was mission impossible. Any effort to do so before the fall of the regime, he would almost certainly have ended up in jail.

A Commitment Sealed by Fate

Ten years after the political changes in Bulgaria – on the historic evening – Marin's idiosyncratic dream edged closer to fulfillment. Tuning in from home from his simple residence in Svishtov and with the score against them, Marin swore an oath to himself: if United somehow turned the game around, he would spare no effort to become known as that of the object of his devotion. Then, the impossible happened.

Marin fulfils his dream of visiting Old Trafford.

The Long Legal Battle

A day later, Marin consulted an attorney to express his unusual request, thus starting a grueling process. The parent who inspired him, from whom he had gained his fandom, was no longer alive, and the man in his thirties was residing with his mom, working all kinds of odd jobs, including as a laborer on £15 a day. He was hardly making ends meet, yet his dream became an obsession. He rapidly evolved into the talk of the town, then became an international sensation, but many seasons full of court cases and disheartening court decisions awaited him.

Trademark Issues and Limited Success

The application was rejected initially for copyright reasons: he was barred from using the title of a world-famous brand. Then a presiding magistrate granted a limited approval, saying Marin could change his first name to the city name but that he was prohibited from using the second part as his legal last name. “Yet my aim is to be identified with an urban area in the UK, I want to bear the identity of my favourite football club,” Marin informed the judge. The battle persisted.

Companions in Adversity

When not in court, he was often caring for his feline friends. He had many animals in his garden in Svishtov and loved them as much as the his team. He named them all after United players: such as Vidic and others, they were the celebrity pets in town. Which was the favourite cat of Man U? One named after David Beckham.

His attire consistently showed his allegiance.

Breakthroughs and Principles

Marin managed another breakthrough in court: he was granted the right to append United as an legal alternative on his ID card. But this did not satisfy him. “I won’t stop until my entire name is Manchester United,” he vowed. His tale attracted financial opportunities – a proposal to have supporters' goods branded with his legal name – but although he was in need, he declined the proposal because he was unwilling to gain financially from his beloved team. The Manchester United name was sacred to him.

Goals Achieved and Enduring Symbols

A documentary followed in that year. The crew turned Marin’s dream of experiencing the Theatre of Dreams and there he even met his compatriot, the national team player playing for United at the time.

Permanently marked the team emblem on his forehead at a later date as a protest against the judicial outcomes and in his closing chapter it became more and more difficult for him to continue his legal battle. Work was limited and he suffered the death of his mother to the pandemic. But against the odds, he persevered. By birth a Catholic, he got baptised in an religious institution under the name Manchester United Zdravkov Levidzhov. “In the eyes of the divine, I am with my real name,” he used to say.

Earlier this week, his time ran out. Maybe at last the club's persistent fan could at last be at rest.