South Yorkshire’s connections to the World Cup often fall on famous faces from big clubs, but did you know the Dearne Valley has also produced figures who have left their mark on the world stage?

One of the most successful at international level was George Raynor.

Hoyland-born Raynor was the first English manager to reach a World Cup final, but it wasn’t while leading his own country.

He served as Sweden’s manager from 1946 until 1954, where he led them to an Olympic gold in 1948, then third place in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, followed by a bronze medal at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

Following stints at club level managing teams like Juventus and Lazio, Raynor then returned to the Swedish national squad where they got to the final of the 1958 World Cup on home turf, ultimately losing 5-2 to Brazil.

So how did a man who started off his career playing non-league football for Wombwell and Mexborough Athletic go on to manage a team that faced off against the likes of Pele?

Raynor’s professional playing career was brief. After starting out in the Don and Dearne, he spent a few years in the football league playing for clubs like Sheffield United, Rotherham United, Mansfield Town and Aldershot.

During the war, Raynor, like many professional footballers, was a physical training instructor in Iraq. He formed a representative team that toured Iraq, garnering the attention of FA secretary, Stanley Rouse. After the war, he subsequently found himself being asked to manage Sweden.

He got off to a flier at the 1948 Olympics which was held in London. His team defeated Yugoslavia in the final at Wembley in front of a crowd of 60,000 people.

However, despite that victory, the following years of his leadership became challenging when the Swedish FA prevented professional players from playing for their country. Against all odds, his team of amateurs still qualified for the 1950 World Cup where they had a strong run and finished in third place.

By the time of the 1958 World Cup, the Swedish FA had allowed professional players to compete again. Raynor managed Sweden to the final against Brazil where they finished runners up.

This remains the greatest ever achievement for Sweden in a major competition and is the best result ever for a non-national manager in the history of the tournament. Raynor was also the last English manager to lead a team to Olympic Gold until 2020.

Sweden gave him a knighthood, but he found it hard to gain the same recognition in English football. He had short spells with Skegness Town and Doncaster Rovers while working at Butlins and as a PE teacher, before retiring in 1968 aged 61.

He died in 1985 and is buried at Elsecar Church.