Jean-Michel Cavalli

Jean-Michel Cavalli is a French and Corsican football manager and former player who is the manager of Kosovo Superleague club Prishtina.

Playing career

Cavalli started his playing career at the now-defunct Gazélec Ajaccio in 1971, also turning out for Corsican sides Bastia SCB and Solenzara before a second spell at Gazélec. In that second spell, Cavalli would spend five years as club captain.

Managerial career

In his final few years as a player, the club hierarchy at Gazélec encouraged Cavalli to shadow then head coach Guy Calléja. In 1990, when Calléja was unable to continue in the role, Cavalli was promoted to manager - overseeing both the professionalisation of the football club and ensuring that Gazélec were able to stay in Division 2 in a period of great transition.
His first taste of international management would take place when he took charge of [Algeria national Association football|football team|Algeria] in 2005. Cavalli coached the Corsica national team, not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, in a 2009 friendly against Congo.

Personal life

Jean-Michel Cavalli comes from a family which had a history of professional football players. His uncle,, won the 1935 Coupe de France with Olympique de Marseille, primarily as a rotational player. His son is the former professional football player Johan Cavalli, who is the current Sporting Director at AC Ajaccio. When Jean-Michel took the reins of the Corsican national team in 2009, Johan was one of the players in the starting XI.