Bandy is a traditional Russian winter sport played all over the country. And it also attracts players from throughout the world such as Swedish star Daniel Ericsson, who wears the colors of Dinamo Moscow.

Dinamo is currently the best bandy team in Russia, not to mention in the world. They’ve won the local championship for the last three seasons.

The team spends most of its time attacking, but if they do have a hard time in defense, Daniel Ericsson is the man who takes centre stage.

The blue-and-whites are the second Russian team for Eriksson after playing with Vodnik Arkhangelsk five seasons ago.

Before that, the 34-year-old spent most of his career in his native town of Sandviken playing for the local club. He was about to retire last autumn before he received a call from Dinamo's captain.

“I talked to Misha Sveshnikov on the phone and he said Dinmao had just three defenders at the time and wanted to have another one. So I was glad to have the opportunity,” Daniel Ericsson said.

Last week, Ericson's club beat their closest rivals, Kuzbass, 5-2 and are now the hot favorites to win the championship for the 4th straight time. But the defender is satisfied with the level of competition in Russia.