Alonso's stellar CV commands respect and he can still ping an inch-perfect pass
The problem with making an unbeaten start to the season, of sitting top of both the Bundesliga and your Europa League group while playing eye-catching football is that people tend to notice.
It's why Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso is top of Real Madrid's wish list to replace Brazil-bound Carlo Ancelotti next summer and touted as a potential replacement for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool one day.
The 41-year-old former midfielder - who won 17 major trophies with Spain, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich during an illustrious playing career - is now the most exciting up-and-coming coach in world football.
The hope in this particular corner of Germany is that they can shed the club's cruel 'Neverkusen' nickname by winning a first trophy since 1993 before Alonso is spirited away.
It stems from the 2001-02 campaign when a talented Leverkusen team finished a point behind Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, lost to Schalke in the DFB-Pokal final and were beaten by a Zinedine Zidane-inspired Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
When Alonso arrived in North Rhine-Westphalia last October, replacing Gerardo Seoane, a Leverkusen team designed to challenge for Champions League qualification sat second bottom.
13 months on and their fortunes have been transformed. Entering the international break, Leverkusen sat two points ahead of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
The only points dropped came in a 2-2 draw with the champions of the past 11 years at the Allianz Arena, when Exequiel Palacios converted a 94th-minute penalty.
They have won all four of their Europa League group games and have a golden chance in the Pokal. Through to the last-16, where they'll host second-tier Paderborn, a path has been cleared by Bayern's
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