I Am Called MUFC: The Die-Hard Supporter Who Battled to Alter His Name

Pose the question to any Manchester United devotee from an earlier generation concerning the importance of May 26th, 1999, and they'll recount that the date was life-altering. It was the night when injury-time goals from Sheringham and Solskjær completed an unbelievable late turnaround in the showpiece event against Bayern Munich at the famous Barcelona stadium. Simultaneously, the world of one United fan in Bulgaria, who recently died at the 62 years old, changed forever.

Aspirations Under Communism

That supporter was originally called Marin Zdravkov Levidzhov in Svishtov, a settlement with a population of 22,000. Living in a socialist state with a devotion to football, he dreamed of adopting a new name to… Manchester United. But, to take the name of a football club from the other side of the Iron Curtain was mission impossible. Any effort to do so prior to the end of communism, he would almost certainly have been arrested.

A Commitment Sealed by Fate

Many seasons after the fall of the regime in Bulgaria – on the unforgettable final – Marin's unique aspiration moved nearer to achievement. Tuning in from home from his humble abode in Svishtov and with United trailing, Marin made a promise to himself: should his team mount a comeback, he would do anything to legally adopt the name that of the object of his devotion. Then, the impossible happened.

Marin fulfils his dream of visiting Old Trafford.

A Protracted Court Struggle

A day later, Marin visited a lawyer to state his extraordinary desire, thus starting a grueling process. His dad, from whom he had inherited his love of United, was deceased, and the man in his thirties was caring for his parent, employed in miscellaneous roles, including as a construction worker on minimal earnings. He was hardly making ends meet, yet his aspiration grew into a mania. He rapidly evolved into the subject of gossip, then was featured globally, but a decade and a half full of legal battles and disheartening court decisions awaited him.

Legal Obstacles and Small Wins

The application was denied early on for trademark concerns: he could not change his name of a internationally recognized entity. Then a presiding magistrate granted a limited approval, saying Marin could alter his given name to Manchester but that he was could not adopt the second part as his family name. “Yet my aim is to be named after a city in England, I want to wear the name of my beloved team,” Marin informed the judge. The struggle continued.

His Beloved Cats

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 Manchester United. He gave each one a name after club legends: including Ferdinand and Rooney, they were the celebrity pets in town. Which was the favourite cat of the name they used? The feline known as Beckham.

His attire consistently showed his allegiance.

Advances and Ethics

Marin managed another breakthrough in court: he was allowed to add United as an legal alternative on his ID card. But this did not satisfy him. “My efforts will persist until my full name is Manchester United,” he declared. His story soon led to commercial propositions – an offer to have fan merchandise branded with his legal name – but although he was in need, he declined the proposal because he was unwilling to gain financially from his adored institution. The team's title was inviolable.

Aspirations Fulfilled and Final Acts

A documentary followed in that year. The production team made his aspiration come true of experiencing the Theatre of Dreams and there he even encountered Dimitar Berbatov, the forward playing for United at the time.

Permanently marked the United crest on his brow three years later as a demonstration against the legal rulings and in his closing chapter it became ever tougher for him to persist with his fight. Work was limited and he lost his mother to the virus. But against the odds, he persevered. By birth a Catholic, he got baptised in an orthodox church under the name his desired full name. “In the eyes of the divine, I am with my chosen name,” he used to say.

This Monday, 13 October, his heart stopped beating. Perhaps now the club's persistent fan could finally find peace.