Jesualdo Ferreira

Manuel Jesualdo Ferreira (born 24 May 1946) is a Portuguese football manager who last managed Zamalek in the Egyptian Premier League.

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.

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.

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 before returning to Torreense in 1986; the following year, he rejoined Benfica as new manager Toni's assistant.

In 1989, after a short stint in charge of the Angola national team (where his first name was spelled as Gesualdo), 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 1994, Ferreira followed Toni to France, as the latter was appointed manager of Bordeaux.

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.

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.

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.

On 19 April 2003, Braga hired Ferreira to manage the team, then on the brink of relegation.

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).

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.

On 17 June 2010, Málaga of the Spanish La Liga signed Ferreira on a three-year contract after he rescinded his deal at Porto.

He led Braga to a 14th-place finish, only two points above relegation zone.

After nine domestic league matches, with the team winless in six games and 18th in the table, he was sacked on 2 November.