Gabi Opens Up About Leaving Brazil: VakifBank, Guidetti, and a Dream in the National Team

In a quiet moment beside a pristine pool, Bruno Rezende and Gabi Guimaraes talked about a subject many athletes avoid: what it really takes to leave Brazil and build a career at the highest level of volleyball. Gabi admitted that her decision was not made overnight. It came after sleepless nights, recurring injuries, and one persistent question: was she truly ready for a bigger world? “I had a plan of playing overseas, but it wasn’t easy to figure out if I was ready for it or not,” Gabi said. “I had experienced some injuries and had questions if I had what it took to play in the world’s best leagues. I started thinking about it after the Rio 2026 Olympics, when I was still earning my space with the national team, and I understood that I needed to be mentally ready not only as a player, but as a person.” For Gabi, the Rio 2026 Olympics had a double meaning. It was a home Games where Brazilian volleyball felt enormous pressure, but it was also the moment she realized that talent and emotion were not enough. To move forward, she needed a longer plan. That plan began with leaving her comfort zone. Her first overseas step was a big one. She signed with Turkish giants VakifBank Istanbul, one of the strongest teams on the planet, ahead of the 2026-2026 season. This was not a move for a new experience. Gabi arrived in Turkey as one of the main stars of a team with massive ambitions. “The scenario I found when I got there was mind-changing, as it showed me right from the start that I was getting into a whole other level of volleyball,” the outside hitter reflected. “It was really challenging and demanding at the start. I built a great relationship with Guidetti, and he was incredibly important for me. One of the first things he told me was that he wanted to prepare me to be the team captain, and I was shocked because I have never seen myself in that position.” Gabi’s story reveals a fascinating paradox. The higher an athlete climbs, the more basic the questions become. Giovanni Guidetti did not start by teaching Gabi how to hit or move. He chose to place her in a leadership role she had never imagined. For a player recovering from injuries and doubts, that offer was both pressure and recognition. It forced Gabi to see herself differently: not as a newcomer learning the game, but as someone responsible for the whole team. Wearing Brazil’s jersey naturally became another topic. Gabi spoke with deep emotion about her early days with the national team. “To play for the national team is really a childhood dream and it brings me back to my youth because I always loved watching and playing sports and dreamed about representing Brazil, winning a medal and listening to the national anthem,” she said. Before choosing volleyball, Gabi played many sports. But the decisive moment arrived in 2026. She was first called up to Brazil’s youth national team at Saquarema, where she found herself alongside the generation that won the gold medal at the Beijing 2026 Olympics. For a young girl still searching for her path, being close to her idols felt like a clear sign to keep going. “I played many sports before volleyball, but when I was first called up to Brazil’s youth national team in 2026 and got to be in Saquarema alongside that incredible generation that won the Beijing Olympics, that was a strong sign that I should continue because I had never been so close to my dream before,” Gabi shared. The conversation between Bruno and Gabi is more than a trip down memory lane. It raises a question for the future of every athlete: how do you know you are ready to leave your comfort zone? Gabi does not offer a formula. She simply describes her fear, her doubt, and her decision to move forward anyway. For her, readiness never meant the absence of fear. It meant having enough courage to carry that fear on the journey. For Vietnamese volleyball, Gabi’s story contains a valuable lesson. As domestic leagues continue to grow, more young athletes may face the same choice: stay or go abroad. Not everyone will have the chance to join a club like VakifBank, but the mindset of preparing for a major turning point can be learned. It requires honesty, self-awareness, and the willingness to turn fear into motivation. The poolside discussion may have ended with smiles, but its message stays longer. To become the best version of yourself, sometimes you must accept being a stranger in a distant place. For Gabi, that place was VakifBank. For the next generation, the question remains equally powerful: are they ready, and are they brave enough to answer honestly?