FRANKFURT, June 29 - France striker Thierry Henry is a self-confessed fan of Brazilian football.

France's striker Thierry Henry (L) talks to coach Raymond Domenech during a training session in Hameln near Hanover June 29, 2006. The 1998 champion beat Spain 3-1 on Tuesday to advance to the final eight for a game against Brazil in the 2006 soccer World Cup tournament. [Reuters]

"You just have to look at those five stars on their shirt to understand that football is part of their identity," Henry told reporters on Thursday, two days before France play Brazil in a World Cup quarter-final on Saturday in Frankfurt.

"They love the game so much. They just have to race that ball forward, that's the way they always have been and always will be.

Passion for the game, Henry said, was what made five-times champions Brazil such a fantastic team.

"In Brazil they're born with a ball," he said. "On the beach, on the street, at school, everywhere you look, they're playing football.

"When I was a kid, I used to ask my mum if could go out and play and she often said I couldn't. In Brazil, the kids are out there playing from eight in the morning until six at night."

Henry also pointed out at Brazil's in-depth strength.

"When you see that a player like (Olympique Lyon midfielder) Juninho, who is so dominant in the French league, is not even in their starting lineup, that says it all," he said.

The Arsenal striker, a real enthusiast for the game, could go on for ever on France's epic quarter-final win over Brazil in the 1986 finals. He was only eight then but remembers every minute of it.

"I remember that Brazil team were superb," he said. "They dominated that match but, as a French fan, you didn't want to admit that."

France won that match in Guadalajara on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

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