Born in
Piracicaba,
São Paulo, Ferreira began his career with hometown side
XV de Piracicaba. After a quick spell at
Guarani as a performance analyst, he joined
São Paulo's youth sides in 1995. In 2000, after spending three years with the youth teams, Ferreira was named assistant coach of
Internacional; in 2002, he was named interim after the dismissal of
Ivo Wortmann. He won that year's
Campeonato Gaúcho and was permanently appointed as head coach on 4 June 2002, but was still sacked on 26 August. On 15 May 2003, Ferreira was appointed head coach of
Noroeste. The following 17 August he moved abroad, joining
Segunda Liga side
Penafiel. On 4 February 2004, Ferreira was dismissed. He was appointed at the helm of
Naval on 4 March, but was relieved of his duties on 12 September. In 2005 Ferreira returned to Brazil, being appointed at
Corinthians Alagoano. After a spell back at Inter as a youth coordinator and at
15 de Novembro, he returned to Internacional in 2008, again as an assistant; he was also an interim in June 2008, after the departure of
Abel Braga. In the following two years, Ferreira managed
Mogi Mirim (two stints),
Criciúma and
ABC. and on 28 July he was named
Portuguesa head coach, with the side seriously threatened with relegation. He managed to finish 12th with the club, but the side ultimately suffered relegation due to irregularly fielding in a player; in the following February, he resigned. On 24 July 2014, immediately after leaving
Figueirense, Ferreira returned to Ponte. He was sacked on 3 August 2015, and was appointed head coach of
Chapecoense on 14 September. On 24 June 2016, Ferreira left
Chape after agreeing to a deal with
Bahia. He left the club in the same manner the following 30 May, after returning to Inter, now in the first team. On 11 November 2017, after a 1–1 draw against
Vila Nova and thus losing the leadership of
2017 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, Ferreira was relieved from his duties. On 26 December, he returned to Bahia, but was sacked the following 3 June. in 2020 On 7 August 2018, Ferreira was appointed head coach of
Chape for the second time, but was dismissed on 15 October. On 20 February of the following year, he took over
Sport Recife, helping in their promotion to the first division at the end of
the season but being dismissed on 13 February 2020 after a poor start of the campaign. On 18 March 2020, Ferreira was named
Ceará head coach in the place of
Enderson Moreira. He was sacked by the club on 29 August of the following year, after nearly 100 matches in charge. On 6 October 2021, Ferreira returned to Bahia for a third spell, replacing
Diego Dabove. He was kept in charge of the club despite their
relegation, but was dismissed on 26 June 2022. On 16 August 2022, Ferreira returned to the top tier after being announced as head coach of
Coritiba. On 9 December, despite avoiding relegation, he was sacked, and was announced in charge of fellow top tier side
Goiás the following day. On 10 April 2023, after losing the
2023 Campeonato Goiano, Ferreira was sacked by Goiás, and returned to Ceará on 29 June. On 29 August, he was dismissed by the latter club. Ferreira returned to
Coxa on 27 November 2023, with their
relegation already confirmed. He was sacked the following 3 May, after a poor start in the
2024 Série B, and returned to Sport on 26 July 2024, where he was also dismissed after just five matches. On 21 February 2025, Ferreira replaced sacked
Bernardo Franco as head coach of
Cuiabá. He lost the
Campeonato Matogrossense title to
Primavera, and was himself dismissed on 10 August. On 22 September 2025, Ferreira was announced as head coach of
Remo also in the second division. He led the club to a promotion to the top tier after 32 years, but left in December after failing to agree new terms. On 22 March 2026, Ferreira was announced as head coach of
Vila Nova, also in the second division. ==Coaching statistics==