Manuel Gavilán (Spanish footballer)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gavilán and the second or maternal family name is Morales.

Manuel 'Manu' Gavilán Morales (born 12 July 1991) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward and is currently a free agent.

Manu Gavilán

Gavilán in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Manuel Gavilán Morales
Date of birth	(1991-07-12) 12 July 1991 (age 32)
Place of birth	Seville, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
	Betis
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2010	Betis B	34	(6)
2010–2014	Bologna	0	(0)
2012	→ Piacenza (loan)	9	(2)
2012–2013	→ Nocerina (loan)	3	(0)
2013–2014	→ San Marino (loan)	22	(1)
2014–2015	Zamora	26	(8)
2015–2016	Ried	18	(0)
2016–2017	Eldense	18	(3)
2017–2018	Llagostera	30	(2)
2018	Guijuelo	16	(2)
2018–2019	Toledo	30	(13)
2019–2020	Happy Valley	8	(3)
2020–2022	Kitchee	21	(8)
2022–2023	Lee Man	12	(4)
International career
2008	Spain U17	8	(2)
2009	Spain U18	2	(0)
2010	Spain U19	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 June 2023

Club career

Born in Seville, Andalusia, Gavilán graduated from Real Betis' youth setup, and made his senior debut with the reserves in the 2008–09 season, in the Segunda División B. After attracting interest from Liverpool and other Premier League clubs, he joined Serie A's Bologna F.C. 1909 on 10 August 2010, for €350,000.^[1]

Gavilán played his first match as a professional on 18 January 2011, coming on as a substitute for Henry Giménez in the 77th minute of a 1–2 away loss against S.S.C. Napoli in the round of 16 of the Coppa Italia.^[2] He subsequently served loans at fellow Italians Piacenza Calcio,^[3] A.S.G. Nocerina^[4] and San Marino Calcio,^[5] only appearing regularly with the latter; he was released in June 2014.

On 6 August 2014, Gavilán returned to Spain and signed a three-year deal with Zamora CF in the third level.^[6] He scored his first goal for the team on 26 October, opening the scoring a 4–0 away win over Atlético Astorga FC.^[7]

In the following seasons, save for a brief spell in the Austrian Football Bundesliga with SV Ried,^[8] Gavilán continued to compete in the Spanish lower leagues, representing in quick succession CD Eldense, UE Llagostera, CD Guijuelo^[9] and CD Toledo.^[10]

On 31 July 2019, after a two-week trial, he joined Hong Kong Premier League side Happy Valley,^[11] leaving on 28 May 2020 after it was decided his contract would not be renewed.^[12]

Gavilán signed with Kitchee of the same league on 1 June 2020.^[13] On 31 May 2022, Gavilán left the club after finishing his contract.

On 29 July 2022, Gavilán joined Lee Man.

Honours

Kitchee

• Hong Kong Premier League: 2019–20

Spain

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2008^[14]

References

1. "Manu Gavilán deja el Betis y firma por el Bolonia italiano" [Manu Gavilán leaves Betis and signs for Italy's Bologna]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 10 August 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
2. "Coppa Italia, il Napoli batte il Bologna e si regala la grande sfida contro l'Inter" [Italian Cup, Napoli beat Bologna and offer themselves great clash against Inter]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 18 January 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
3. "Gavilan in prestito al Piacenza" [Gavilan on loan at Piacenza] (in Italian). Bologna F.C. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
4. "Comunicato n.7 – Manuel Gavilan Morales in prestito alla Nocerina" [Announcement n.7 – Manuel Gavilan Morales on loan at Nocerina] (in Italian). A.S.G. Nocerina. 14 July 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
5. "Ufficiale: San Marino, poker di arrivi dal Bologna" [Official: San Marino, 'poker' arrives from Bologna] (in Italian). Tutto Lega Pro. 8 July 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
6. "El Zamora se refuerza con el delantero Manuel Gavilán" [Zamora bolster with forward Manuel Gavilán] (in Spanish). Zamora 24 Horas. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
7. Fernández Martínez, Alexis (26 October 2014). "El Zamora enciende las alarmas en La Eragudina" [Zamora set off the alarms at La Eragudina] (in Spanish). Vavel. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
8. "Ried holt spanischen Stürmer Manuel Gavilan" [Ried get Spanish forward Manuel Gavilan]. Niederösterreichische Nachrichten (in German). 14 April 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
9. "El CD Guijuelo se hace con los servicios del delantero Manu Gavilán" [CD Guijuelo acquire services of forward Manu Gavilán] (in Spanish). Salamanca RTV al Día. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
10. "El Toledo cierra el fichaje del delantero sevillano Gavilán, procedente del Guijuelo" [Toledo complete signing of Sevilla-born forward Gavilán, from Guijuelo]. ABC (in Spanish). 17 September 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
11. Yuen, Chi Ho (31 July 2019). "歐陽耀冲簽約流浪一年　愉園羅致前西班牙小國腳" (in Chinese). HK01. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
12. Hseun, Ka Min (28 May 2020). "馬希卡歷 加維蘭即將約滿離隊 愉園4外援不隨隊戰港超". Apple Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
13. "加維蘭 米基爾轉會續戰港超聯" (in Chinese). On. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
14. Saffer, Paul (16 May 2008). "Stupendous Spain win U17 crown". UEFA. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2020.

External links

• Manu Gavilán at BDFutbol
• Manu Gavilán at Futbolme (in Spanish)
• Manu Gavilán at Soccerway