Early career Born in
Mirandela, Ferreira moved to Angola at early age but later returned to Portugal due to the
Angolan War of Independence. He then played as a
midfielder for
Ovarense's youth setup, but retired at the age of 20 to obtain his coaching qualifications. After studying in
Lisbon at the Superior Institute of Physical Education (he later would work there as a teacher), he joined the
Portuguese Football Federation in late 1974 to work with the youth categories. In 1979, Ferreira joined
Benfica as a youth football coordinator. before returning to Torreense in 1986; the following year, he rejoined Benfica as new manager
Toni's assistant. Ferreira returned to Torreense for a third spell. He later worked at
Estrela da Amadora while also being one of
Artur Jorge's assistants at the
Portugal national team; the club, however, was relegated to
Liga de Honra in the 1990–91 season. In 1992, after Toni was again appointed manager of Benfica, Ferreira joined his staff as his assistant. In November 2002, after a poor string of results, Ferreira was fired by Benfica president
Luís Filipe Vieira after being knocked out of the
Taça de Portugal at home to third division side
Gondomar. He was replaced by the Spanish manager
José Antonio Camacho.
Braga On 19 April 2003,
Braga hired Ferreira to manage the team, then on the brink of relegation. He led Braga to a
14th-place finish, only two points above relegation zone. In the
2003–04,
2004–05 and
2005–06 seasons, Braga made fantastic league runs, and with players like
João Tomás and
Wender, they fought for the title in 2004–05. Braga reached fifth place (2003–04) and twice in fourth place (2004–05 and 2005–06).
Porto in 2006 In May 2006,
Boavista signed Ferreira after his tenure with Braga ended, but suddenly
Porto and its team president,
Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, offered him a contract following the unexpected departure of manager
Co Adriaanse. Ferreira terminated his contract with Boavista and joined Porto at the
Estádio do Dragão on 18 August 2006, after the
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira final, only one week before the start of the
2006–07 league. There, Ferreira worked with such stars as
Ricardo Quaresma,
Anderson,
Pepe,
Lucho González,
Raul Meireles,
Paulo Assunção,
José Bosingwa and
Lisandro López. Despite having little time to adjust to his new club or changing the team's tactical approach who, under Adriaanse, played in a very offensive 3–3–4 system, Ferreira still managed to win the league title in his
first year at the club, finishing only one point ahead of
Sporting Clube de Portugal and two of Benfica. In the
UEFA Champions League, Porto reached the first knockout round but were eliminated by
Chelsea, 2–3 on aggregate. The
2007–08 season saw a great run by a Porto team that won the
league championship with a 20-point margin over second-placed Sporting, despite later being deducted six points due to the bribery of referees in the 2003–04 season. In Europe, Ferreira once again took Porto to the first knockout round of the
Champions League after finishing first in a group that included
Liverpool, being eliminated by German side
Schalke 04 on penalties following a 1–1 aggregate draw. The
2008–09 season was another successful year for the club under Ferreira, with Porto reaching the fourth consecutive league title in a row, Jesualdo's third, making him the first Portuguese manager ever to win three consecutive Portuguese league championships. In addition, Porto also achieved a domestic
double, beating
Paços de Ferreira 1–0 in the final of the
Taça de Portugal thanks to a goal by Lisandro López. In the
Champions League, Porto reached the quarter-finals, topping a group that included
Arsenal, and beating
Atlético Madrid on away goals in the Round of 16, before being knocked out by then-title holders
Manchester United 2–3 on aggregate. That season's performance rewarded Ferreira with a two-year contract extension. Despite previous success,
2009–10 was not a solid season for
os Dragões, with the team losing their first league title since 2005 to rivals Benfica, but also finishing
third in the league, which meant they failed to secure a Champions League spot
for the following season. Despite this, Porto won both the
Taça de Portugal and
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, in addition to recording a 3–1 home victory over
fierce rivals Benfica at the end of the season. Nonetheless, Ferreira resigned on 26 May 2010.
Málaga On 17 June 2010,
Málaga of the Spanish
La Liga signed Ferreira on a three-year contract after he rescinded his deal at Porto. After nine domestic league matches, with the team winless in six games and 18th in the table, he was sacked on 2 November.
Panathinaikos Ferreira was then hired by Greek club
Panathinaikos, signing a -year contract on 20 November 2010. Ferreira came in to replace
Nikos Nioplias, who was sacked after disappointing results in the
Super League Greece and the
group stage of Champions League. After his love with the team, Ferreira stayed as the head coach of Panathinaikos despite the financial problems and the break inside the team's operation. After failing to qualify for the
2011–12 Champions League in the third qualifying round, he kept the spirit and beliefs and had Panathinaikos first in the first round of Super League and second final to the play-offs. Ferreira was later offered a new 1+1-year contract, but he later resigned from his role on 14 November 2012.
Sporting CP A month after Ferreira resigned from Panathinaikos, Sporting CP hired him for an administrative position where he would run all of Sporting's football teams. On 7 January 2013, however, after Sporting had sacked its manager
Franky Vercauteren after a long string of mediocre results, Ferreira was named his replacement. Just months later, on 20 May,
Leonardo Jardim was announced as the new manager of the
Lisbon club; consequently, Ferreira was immediately sacked.
Return to Braga In May 2013, Ferreira was the choice of Braga club president António Salvador to manage the club and leading the reshuffling of the professional team after a disappointing season that ended with a non-qualification for the
2013–14 Champions League. Ferreira, having previously served as Salvador's first manager in his presidential term in 2003, became the first to coach the team on two different occasions under Salvador. On February, after a draw against
Arouca at the
Estádio Municipal de Braga, Ferreira left the club due to the string of bad results.
Zamalek In February 2015, Ferreira was appointed as head coach of
Zamalek SC. He led the club to their 12th Egyptian Premier League title, their first league title since 2004, and led the club to win a domestic double by beating
Al Ahly 2–0, in the
Egypt Cup final. He could not, however, repeat this feat against Al Ahly again in the
Egyptian Super Cup, as they lost 3–2 to their arch rival. Ferreira resigned from Zamalek on 21 November 2015.
Al Sadd in 2019 On 28 November 2015, Ferreira was named the head coach of
Al Sadd SC, on a six-month deal with the option of a further year. Having won the
2018–19 Qatar Stars League with a game to play, he left the team in May and was replaced by
Xavi.
Santos On 23 December 2019, Ferreira was named manager of
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side
Santos FC, after signing a one-year contract. The following 5 August, after being knocked out of the
2020 Campeonato Paulista, he was sacked.
Return to Boavista On 14 December 2020, Ferreira signed up for his first job in Portugal for over six years, replacing
Vasco Seabra at Boavista until June 2022. He helped the club avoid any relegation threat on the final day of the season and became the oldest manager in Primeira Liga, with the championship concluding just before he turned 75. He agreed to end his contract a year early in June 2021, to allow the club to bring in
João Pedro Sousa.
Return to Zamalek In March 2022, Ferreira returned to Zamalek on an 18-month deal, replacing
Patrice Carteron. On 21 July, his team won the delayed
2021 Egypt Cup Final 2–1 against rivals Al Ahly led by compatriot
Ricardo Soares, and a month later the team won the
league title ahead of
Pyramids FC. On 24 January 2023, he was sacked from his position after a 2–1 defeat against
Ghazl El Mahalla. Eight days later, he returned as Zamalek manager. On 22 March, he was sacked for the second time in the same season after a 2–0 defeat against
CR Belouizdad, which resulted in a
CAF Champions League group stage exit. ==Relationship with Mourinho==