Gavilán was gradually breaking into the main squad after two loans (CD Tenerife – second level – and Getafe CF), even though he had to battle for that position with the gifted (although tremendously injury-prone) Vicente.

However, after the arrival of new boss Ronald Koeman in November 2007, he was deemed surplus to requirements and was loaned again to Getafe, until the end of the season; the previous campaign, he suffered a serious knee ligament injury which kept him out of action for a period of six months.

[2] In his second spell with the Madrid outskirts side, Gavilán appeared prominently during half a season, netting in a 2–1 home win over Racing de Santander on 16 March 2008.

[6] Free agent Gavilán joined fellow top division club Levante UD in June 2014, signing a two-year contract with an option to extend for a further year.

[13] In the run up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Luis Aragonés called up Gavilán to a Spain senior team get-together, however he was ultimately not part of the squad at the finals and never earned a full cap.