Jean-Michel Cavalli (born 13 July 1957) 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 (1977–78) and Solenzara (1978–79) 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 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, Jean Cavalli, 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.