🔗 Share this article I Am Called Manchester United: This Die-Hard Supporter Who Fought to Alter His Legal Name Inquire of any Man United fan from an earlier generation regarding the importance of that fateful day in May 1999, and they'll recount that the date was life-altering. It was the night when injury-time goals from Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær sealed an incredible come-from-behind victory in the showpiece event against Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou. That same night, the life of one loyal follower in Eastern Europe, who has died at the age of 62, changed forever. Aspirations Under Communism This individual was originally called Marin Levidzhov in a small Danube town, a community with a tight-knit community. Living in the former Eastern Bloc with a devotion to football, he dreamed of changing his name to… the Red Devils. Yet, to take the name of a organization from the capitalist west was an unattainable goal. If he had attempted to do so prior to the end of communism, he would undoubtedly have faced imprisonment. A Commitment Sealed by Fate Ten years after the political changes in Bulgaria – on that night in May 1999 – Marin's personal goal came one step closer to fulfillment. Watching the final from his modest home in Svishtov and with United trailing, Marin vowed to himself: should his team mount a comeback, he would spare no effort to legally adopt the name that of the team he adored. Then, against all odds, it transpired. Marin fulfils his dream of visiting Old Trafford. Years of Judicial Challenges The next day, Marin consulted an attorney to state his extraordinary desire, thus starting a grueling process. His dad, from whom he had learned to support the club, was long gone, and the man in his thirties was caring for his parent, working all kinds of odd jobs, including as a builder on a meager daily wage. He was hardly making ends meet, yet his aspiration grew into a mania. He quickly turned into the talk of the town, then was featured globally, but a decade and a half full of court cases and discouraging rulings lay ahead. Trademark Issues and Limited Success Marin’s wish was rejected initially for copyright reasons: he was not permitted to adopt the name of a trademark known around the globe. Then a presiding magistrate ruled partially in his favour, saying Marin could alter his given name to Manchester but that he was prohibited from using United as his family name. “But I don’t want to be identified with an urban area in England, I want to carry the title of my cherished club,” Marin told the court. The battle persisted. His Beloved Cats During breaks from litigation, he was often caring for his feline friends. He had plenty of them in his outdoor space in Svishtov and held them in the same esteem as the Red Devils. He named them all after team stars: from Rio to Rooney, they were the best-known felines in town. The one he loved most of the name they used? One named after David Beckham. His attire consistently showed his allegiance. Breakthroughs and Principles He achieved a further success in court: he was permitted to include the club name as an official nickname on his identification document. But this did not satisfy him. “I won’t stop until my complete identity is Manchester United,” he declared. His narrative resulted in commercial propositions – a proposal to have supporters' goods produced under his new name – but despite his financial struggles, he rejected the opportunity because he did not want to profit from his beloved team. The club's identity was inviolable. Aspirations Fulfilled and Final Acts A documentary followed in that year. The filmmakers turned Marin’s dream of experiencing the Theatre of Dreams and there he even had the chance to see Dimitar Berbatov, the forward then at the club at the time. He inked the United crest on his forehead subsequently as a protest against the legal rulings and in his final years it became more and more difficult for him to keep up the struggle. Job opportunities were scarce and he lost his mother to Covid-19. But against the odds, he persevered. Born as a Catholic, he got baptised in an orthodox church under the name Manchester United Zdravkov Levidzhov. “Ultimately, my true name is recognized with my true identity,” he often stated. On a recent Monday, his life came to an end. Maybe at last the club's restless soul could at last be at rest.