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 [2] and ensuring that Gazélec were able to stay in Division 2 in a period of great transition.
[3][4] Cavalli coached the Corsica national team, not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, in a 2009 friendly against Congo.
[citation needed] 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.