Johan Étienne Anthony Cavalli (born 12 September 1981) is a French former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Early career

Whilst at Lorient Cavalli played as a substitute in the 2002 Coupe de France Final in which they beat

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastia (, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French professional association football, football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football in France, ...

Watford

Cavalli joined

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

on deadline day of the 2007 January transfer window, on a free transfer from French side

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location I ...

, signing an 18-month contract. He made his debut in the 1–0 win against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

on 10 February 2007. He had his contract with "Hornets" cancelled by mutual consent on 20 August 2007.

Mons

On 18 October 2007, it was announced that Cavalli had signed a two-year contract with Belgian club

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

. In May 2008, he left the club my mutual consent.

Ajaccio

Cavalli joined his hometown club

AC Ajaccio Athletic Club Ajaccien (), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ACA or simply Ajaccio, is a French professional football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and plays in the Ligue 2, the sec ...

in November 2010 on a contract running until 2013. He started on the opening day of the 2011–12 Ligue 1 season, playing 77 minutes in a 2–0 loss to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. He was also in the starting eleven for Ajaccio's trip to the Stade Gerland the following weekend and played 78 minutes in a 1–1 draw with hosts

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. In Ajaccio 1–1 draw against fellow Ligue 1 newcomers

Evian Evian (, ; , stylized as evian) is a French brand that bottles mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. Evian is owned by Danone, a French multinational corporation. In addition to the miner ...

on 20 August 2011 he set up midfield partner Frédéric Sammaritano for the 7th-minute 1–0 lead following a "great combination" between him and Benjamin André. Following a five-match suspension, Cavalli returned on 10 April 2015 to face

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

. He scored via penalty as Ajaccio beat Dijon 1–0 at the

Stade François Coty The Stade Michel-Moretti, until 2024 ''Stade François Coty'' () is a association football, football stadium in the Corsican city of Ajaccio, France, and the home of AC Ajaccio. Its capacity is 10,660. The stadium was inaugurated on 1 December 1 ...

. At the end of the 2019–20 season, after ten years with Ajaccio, Cavalli retired from playing.

International career

Cavalli was capped for the

Corsica national football team The Corsica national football team () is the unofficial football team for the island of Corsica, France. It is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA. The selection has played against national teams thirteen times. In the past, the selection has also ...

, which is not a

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

member, as it does not represent a fully sovereign nation. On 31 May 2011, he scored the only goal to help his team to a prestigious 1–0 win over

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

Personal life

Cavalli's father

Jean-Michel Jean-Michel is a French masculine given name. It may refer to : * Jean-Michel Arnold, General Secretary of the Cinémathèque Française * Jean-Michel Atlan (1913–1960), French artist * Jean-Michel Aulas (born 1949), French businessman * Jean-M ...

is also a former footballer and coached him during his time at

Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalli, Johan 1981 births Living people Footballers from Ajaccio French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders FC Lorient players US Créteil-Lusitanos players RCD Mallorca players Istres FC players Watford F.C. players R.A.E.C. Mons (1910) players Nîmes Olympique players AC Ajaccio players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Premier League players Belgian Pro League players Corsica men's international footballers French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Spain 21st-century French sportsmen