Reuters Soccer Blog

One Salzburg bar is offering free drinks for every sending-off in a match and even Mozart’s house has a soccer ball and an Austria shirt in the window.

You wouldn’t have thought it, but even sleepy little Salzburg, beloved of older tourists and “Sound of Music” fans has embraced Euro 2008 fever.

Salzburg locals, who love wearing traditional Alpine garb  — lederhosen for men, and dirndl dresses for women (which make even a waif look buxom) say their love of winter sports makes them the perfect hosts.

“Vienna has the slogan ‘Vienna is different.’ It is true, they are different. It is flat there and they complain a lot,” says 24-year-old Robert Moser.

“We are very into our sport in this part of Austria”.

For now, carefully arranged little footballs grace the windows of boutiques and chemist shops. It looks cute, like the city. But looking at the crowds of well-behaved Japanese tour groups with their guide books, you get the feeling Salzburg has no idea what is going to hit it.