Success for Canadian and former MLS pool keeper

Some may be tempted to take a narrow view and dismiss the importance of anything that happens outside of the major European leagues as being without importance. However, to me, the larger view is to understand the difficulty in winning a championship at any level of sport.

So, as a Canadian soccer supporter it's nice to see David Monsalve holding a Canadian flag above, during the trophy ceremony for the Finnish Cup. FC Inter Turku defeated Tampere United 2-1 Sunday to capture the honour. It was the first ever Finnish Cup for Inter.

Monslave, who played some minutes for TFC in 2007 as a MLS pool keeper, started the game for Inter, where he is normally the back-up. He's been forced into starting following an injury to Patrick Bantamoi. With Bantamoi rumoured to be on the way out during the January transfer window, Monsalve could find himself as the first choice come the time the Veikkausliiga kicks off again in the spring.

If that's the case, he could also see action in the qualifying rounds of next year's Europa League.

Clearly the Finnish league is a lower ranked European football league, but with the Canadian keeper situation what it is right now it's nice to see anyone, anywhere, getting playing time. It wouldn't be the worst idea in the world to give Monslave a call for this month’s friendlies against Poland and Macedonia.