Born in Lisbon, Inácio started playing for Sporting CP, signing at the age of 27 for Porto and winning several Primeira Liga championships and domestic cups with both clubs.

However, Inácio would be sacked just nine matches into the following campaign, leaving them with only six points; he then went on to manage Ionikos in the Super League Greece,[4] but resigned on 15 January 2007 after a heavy defeat against Panathinaikos.

At this time in the season, Naval had just one point from four games and dismissed Ulisses Morais, but ultimately easily retained their top division status, finishing in eighth position.

[8] The following month he led the team to their first ever major trophy, conquering the Taça da Liga after the 1–0 win over Braga at the Estádio Algarve;[9] previously, they disposed of Porto in the group stage of the competition and Benfica in the semi-finals.

[11] On 7 April, he succeeded Mohamed Helmy at the helm of Egyptian Premier League side Zamalek;[12] he terminated his one-and-a-half-year contract in late July,[13] being subsequently held in the club's facilities and requesting help from the Portuguese embassy in the African country until the situation was eventually solved.