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.

Born in Mirandela, Ferreira moved to Angola at early age but later returned to Portugal due to the Angolan War of Independence.

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.

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.

[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.

In May 2006, Boavista signed Ferreira after his tenure with Braga ended,[8] 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[9] 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.

[10] There, Ferreira worked with such stars as Ricardo Quaresma, Anderson, Pepe, Lucho González, Raul Meireles, Paulo Assunção, José Bosingwa and 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.

[16] Ferreira came in to replace Nikos Nioplias, who was sacked after disappointing results in the Greek Superleague and the group stage of Champions League.

[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.

On February, after a draw against Arouca at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, Ferreira left the club due to the string of bad results.

[27] On 23 December 2019, Ferreira was named manager of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A side Santos FC, after signing a one-year contract.

[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.

[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.