In a managerial career of over forty years, he was in charge of all of his country's Big Three and had his greatest successes at Porto, where he became the first manager to win three consecutive Primeira Liga titles and also lifted the Taça de Portugal twice. He won two Egyptian Premier League titles and as many national cups at Zamalek, as well as a Qatar Stars League title and three domestic cups at Al Sadd. Additionally, he managed Angola and teams in Morocco, Spain, Greece and Brazil.
Coaching career
Early career
Born in Mirandela, Ferreira moved to Angola at early age but later returned to Portugal due to the Angolan War of Independence.[1] He then played as a midfielder for Ovarense's youth setup, but retired at the age of 20 to obtain his coaching qualifications.[2] 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.[3]
In 1979, Ferreira joined Benfica as a youth football coordinator.[2] In 1981 he started his career as a manager, taking over Rio Maior of the Segunda Divisão, and later worked at fellow league team Torreense for two seasons before being appointed manager of Primeira Liga side Académica de Coimbra in 1984.
Ferreira was dismissed from Académica after matchday seven with the balance of one victory and six defeats, being replaced by Vítor Manuel who led the team to a final seventh-place position. He also coached Atlético CP and Silves[4] before returning to Torreense in 1986; the following year, he rejoined Benfica as new manager Toni's assistant.[2]
In 1989, after a short stint in charge of the Angola national team (where his first name was spelled as Gesualdo),[5] 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.[2]
In 1994, Ferreira followed Toni to France, as the latter was appointed manager of Bordeaux.[2] Both went to separate ways in 1995, as Ferreira took over Moroccan side FAR Rabat He led team to the Moroccan Throne Cup final, and subsequently worked as Portugal under-21 national team manager.
Alverca and Benfica
Ferreira arrived at Alverca in 2000–01, where he took the team to 12th place in the Primeira Liga. With good results, Ferreira then left for Benfica for the 2001–02 season; initially an assistant to Toni, he took over the club on 29 December 2001 after Toni was sacked.[6]
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.[7] 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).
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.[11] 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.[12]
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.[13]
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.[14] After nine domestic league matches, with the team winless in six games and 18th in the table, he was sacked on 2 November.[15]
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 Superleague and second final to the playoffs. Ferreira was later offered a new 1+1-year contract, but he later resigned from his role on 14 November 2012.[17]
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.[18] 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.[19] Just months later, on 20 May, Leonardo Jardim was announced as the new manager of the Lisbon club; consequently, Ferreira was immediately sacked.[20]
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.[21] 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.[22]
Zamalek
In February 2015, Ferreira was appointed as head coach of Zamalek SC.[23] 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.[24]
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.[25] Having won the 2018–19Qatar Stars League with a game to play,[26] he left the team in May and was replaced by Xavi.[27]
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.[30] 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.[31][32] He agreed to end his contract a year early in June 2021, to allow the club to bring in João Pedro Sousa.[33][34]
Return to Zamalek
In March 2022, Ferreira returned to Zamalek on an 18-month deal, replacing Patrice Carteron.[35] On 21 July, his team won the delayed 2021 Egypt Cup Final 2–1 against rivals Al Ahly led by compatriot Ricardo Soares,[36] and a month later the team won the league title ahead of Pyramids FC.[37] On 24 January 2023, he was sacked from his position after a 2–1 defeat against Ghazl El Mahalla.[38] Eight days later, he returned as Zamalek manager.[39] 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.[40]
Relationship with Mourinho
Ferreira and former Porto manager José Mourinho first crossed paths in the 1980s, when Mourinho was a student at the Lisbon Superior Institute for Physical Education and Ferreira was a teacher there. In 2000, when Mourinho was briefly the manager of Benfica, he refused to accept the appointment of Ferreira as his assistant, and in February 2005, Mourinho had a swipe at Ferreira in his weekly column for the Portuguese sports magazine Record.
Comparing himself with Ferreira, Mourinho wrote,
"One is a coach with a 30-year career, the other with a three-year one. The one with 30 years has never won anything; the one with three years has won a lot. The one who has coached for 30 years has an enormous career; the one with three years has a small career. The one with a 30-year career will be forgotten when he ends it; the one with three could end it right now and he could never be erased from history. This could be the story of a donkey who worked for 30 years but never became a horse."[41]
Despite these claims by Mourinho, Ferreira went on to make history by becoming the first Portuguese coach to win three consecutive titles in Portugal, a feat that Mourinho never achieved (although Mourinho never managed the same club in Portugal for three full consecutive seasons).[42] Mourinho also was Ferreira's assistant in 1990–91, for Estrela da Amadora.
Another Porto coach, José Couceiro, worked with Ferreira many times. Firstly, Ferreira was a coach in Atlético Clube de Portugal, and Couceiro was a player there. Couceiro moved to Torreense, with Ferreira as coach. And finally, in 1991–92, Couceiro joined Estrela da Amadora, again with Ferreira as coach.
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