By Oliver Trust

BERLIN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Visibly moved Xabi Alonso raised his arm to give the crowd a greeting and say thank you.

Like a warm spring rain, fans' chants and applause rained down on the Bayer Leverkusen coach while his team harvested another win on the way to the club's first German league title when beating Hoffenheim in a last-minute move.

Having announced to stay at least another year and rejected reported offers from several leading clubs of European football such as Bayern Munich and Liverpool triggered a wave of euphoria in Leverkusen.

"I am not finished here yet," the Spaniard said to explain his decision and triggered appreciation and understanding among prominent football protagonists such as Bayern board member sports, Max Eberl and LFC coach Juergen Klopp.

While the national league title race seems a done issue due to a 13-point lead with eight rounds of matches to go, further titles seem within reach in the German Cup and the UEFA Euro League. This Wednesday, Leverkusen is facing second-division side Duesseldorf in the Cup semis.

Eberl called the 42-year-old a "man of honor" while Klopp claimed to entirely understand "that he wants to continue his way with his club and team."

While Bayern is reportedly turning its head for German national coach Julian Nagelsmann, Austrian national coach Ralf Rangnick, and Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi, Alonso follows his pattern to thoughtfully build his career.

"We soon got aware of him not wanting to leave Leverkusen at this stage," Eberl added. The Bayern official spoke about the two-time Champions League winner's unwavering decision to slowly develop his career step by step.

The record-setting 38 unbeaten games seem to create an irresistible flow for Leverkusen while Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel already delivered congratulations for winning the national title.

"Is that right, it's 13 points now? Congratulations to Leverkusen," the 50-year-old stated after the Bavarians declared the league race as over after their 2-0 defeat on home soil against Dortmund.

Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes spoke about "an encouraging sign that he intends to continue our way together."

As a fact, nine more league points are necessary to kick the can down the road aside from the Cup opportunity and the last-eight rounds duel against Premier League side West Ham in the Euro League.

From Real's under-14 youth side, Alonso calmly made his way over Real Sociedad's second team in Spain's third tier to Leverkusen.

The coach's decision to stay includes the intention to next season confirm his side's success coming along with the confirmation to have developed into a top-class coach.

The courted coach answered the celebrations in his typical way. "We want to win games, but I must admit, the fans' overwhelming reaction was a very special moment for me." Enditem

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