George Raynor is one of the most successful English managers of all-time on the international stage and yet no one in England has ever heard of him. After a mediocre playing career, he took charge of Sweden's national team, guiding them to a 1948 Olympic victory of Yugoslavia in the final. He followed this up with a magnificent third place in the 1950 world cup, despite the fact he could not pick professional footballers for Sweden's national team and thus had a very limited pool of amateurs to choose from. He went on to win a bronze medal at the 1952 olympics but his greatest achievement with Sweden was yet to come. In 1954, he guided Sweden all the way through to the world cup final, eventually losing to Brazil and transforming him into a hero in Sweden. Perhaps his sweetest moment came in 1959, when his Sweden team became only the second team to beat England at Wembley. Despite his remarkable achievements with Sweden, he never achieved any success as a club manager, managing AIK, Lazio, Coventry City and others with little to show for his efforts. He was never regarded well in England and, despite his record with Sweden and tenure at the helm of Lazio in Italy, he struggled to find work, managing Skegness Town and being sacked at Doncaster Rovers years later. He would be considered one of the all-time greats had he managed some success at club level to match his remarkable achievements with Sweden.
British league champions: 0
Foreign league champions: 0
European cup: 0
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