Bruno Rezende and Gabi Guimaraes on leaving Brazil: injuries, fear and the VakifBank turning point

Sitting beside a pristine pool, Bruno Rezende and Gabriela Guimaraes sat down to talk about the challenging processes both faced when they made the difficult decision to leave Brazil and play overseas so they could keep moving forward in their careers. The conversation, produced by Volleyball World, stood out because neither of them hesitated to discuss the failures, doubts and sacrifices that few people ever see behind the lights of the arena.

“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, and that maybe at that point I’d need to leave my comfort zone and make some sacrifices to take the next step in my career.”

That was the opening line of a long story about youth, about injuries nobody talks about, about sleepless nights and about moments when an athlete has to ask whether volleyball is still the right path.

Injuries and the big question about yourself

For an elite athlete, injury is never only a physical problem. It becomes a crisis of confidence. Gabi admitted she went through a period when every training session felt like a test and every spike carried the fear of a new injury. In the middle of that period, the biggest question appeared: did she really have what it took to play in the best leagues on the planet?

This is something many Brazilian players understand but rarely say out loud. Brazil has one of the best development systems in the world, yet once a player steps onto the international stage, the gap in intensity, pressure and tactical demands becomes much clearer. Gabi had to face taller opponents, but more importantly she had to face her own limits.

She added that the most important factor is not technique but mental readiness. A player can be technically perfect and still fail abroad if that player is not prepared for loneliness, for a language barrier, for days without family and for the pressure of proving value as a foreign signing.

Rio 2026, the milestone that forced Gabi to grow up

The Rio 2026 Olympics was one of the most painful events in the history of Brazilian women’s volleyball. The host nation was eliminated in the quarter-finals by China after a five-set battle that ended with disappointment covering the entire arena. For a young player like Gabi at the time, that memory was both a wound and a lesson.

“I started thinking about it after the Rio 2026 Olympics, when I was still earning my space with the national team,” she recalled. That moment reshaped the way she looked at her entire career. If she wanted to keep improving, she had to change her environment and accept that her comfort zone in Brazil was no longer enough.

Analysts often point out that this is a common pattern among Brazilian volleyball stars. The Brazilian Superliga remains one of the strongest domestic leagues in the world, but the number of clubs able to compete at European level is limited. Young players therefore have to look for opportunities in Turkey, Italy, Poland or Japan if they want to reach the top.

The VakifBank turning point

Gabi recalls that her first step overseas was a big one. She decided to sign with VakifBank, one of the strongest teams on the planet, ahead of the 2026-2026 season and joined a team with massive ambitions as one of their main stars.

“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.”

VakifBank Istanbul is a team where every training session is organised like an official match. The intensity, the tactical demands, the precision of every set and the pressure to win every competition create an environment that not every player can handle. Gabi had to relearn many things, from off-the-ball movement to reading the game at a much higher speed.

Giovanni Guidetti and a shocking offer

What made the biggest difference in Gabi’s early period in Turkey was her relationship with head coach Giovanni Guidetti. She said she built a great relationship with him and that the Italian coach was incredibly important for her career.

“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 recalled.

That offer was not just a professional promotion. It was a statement of trust. Guidetti saw in Gabi someone who could lead a group, not only score points but shape the spirit of a team. For a young player who had just left her home country, that responsibility was both an honour and a burden.

Gabi admitted the captaincy forced her to grow up much faster than expected. She had to learn how to speak in front of a group, how to take responsibility for her team-mates’ defeats and how to stay calm in the hardest moments. Those are skills no technical manual can teach.

The yellow and green shirt and a childhood dream

Wearing Brazil’s jersey was naturally another topic of the conversation, and the theme led Gabi to revisit her first impressions when called up to play for Brazil’s youth national teams and the influence the generation that won gold at the Beijing 2026 Olympics had on her career.

“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 volleyball, Gabi played many different sports. That multi-sport background helped her build overall athleticism and coordination, qualities that later became the advantage of an outside hitter with modest height but world-class efficiency.

“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.”

Saquarema 2026 and the golden generation

Saquarema, Brazil’s national training centre, is the place where many generations of talent grew up. For Gabi, training there alongside names such as Fofao, Sheilla Castro, Jaqueline, Paula Pequeno, Fabiana Claudino and Thaisa Menezes was a life-changing experience.

Watching those senior players work every day, she understood that talent alone is not enough. Behind every medal there are thousands of hours of silent work, strict discipline and a winning culture passed from one generation to the next.

The Beijing 2026 generation of Brazilian women’s volleyball beat the United States in the final to win the Olympic gold medal under head coach Jose Roberto Guimaraes. It was the first time Brazil’s women stood at the very top of the Olympic Games, and the mark of that generation is still felt today.

Gabi believes that period in Saquarema helped her define her path. She understood that if she wanted to become part of that history, she had to accept the hardest years of a professional athlete’s life.

Why Brazilian stars have to go abroad

Gabi’s story is not an exception. It is the general model of Brazilian volleyball over the past two decades. The top European leagues, especially in Turkey and Italy, pay several times more than domestic clubs and offer the chance to compete at the highest level.

A Brazilian player moving to Turkey does not only get a better contract. That player also competes alongside international stars, gains access to advanced coaching methods and plays in the most prestigious club competitions, such as the European Champions League and the Club World Championship.

The trade-off, however, is huge. Foreign players in Turkey face enormous pressure to deliver results. One defeat can lead to criticism in the media, questions about their place in the squad and sometimes an immediate replacement. This is why Gabi emphasised the mental factor above everything else.

Turkey, Italy and the race for money

Turkish women’s volleyball became one of the power centres of the sport in the 2010s and 2020s. Clubs such as VakifBank, Fenerbahce and Eczacibasi hold huge budgets and are ready to spend to bring in top stars from all over the world.

Italy is also an attractive destination with the tradition-rich Serie A1, where clubs such as Imoco Conegliano, Novara and Scandicci regularly reach the Champions League final stages. For a Brazilian player, choosing between Turkey and Italy usually depends on playing style, salary and the chance to win titles.

Against that backdrop, Gabi joining VakifBank was a strategic decision. She did not choose an average team to guarantee a starting place. She chose the strongest team to force herself to improve as fast as possible.

Bruno Rezende, the listener and a captain’s journey

On the other side of the conversation, Bruno Rezende understood exactly what Gabi was describing. He also left Brazil to play in Italy with Modena and went through the same process of adapting to a completely different volleyball culture.

As captain of the Brazilian men’s national team, Bruno knows that pressure at home is enormous. Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in Brazil, and every defeat of the national team becomes a national topic. Playing abroad is therefore both an opportunity and a way to escape permanent pressure.

He is also the son of legendary coach Bernardinho, who led the Brazilian men’s team to a long list of major titles. That makes Bruno’s journey permanently tied to special expectations, and perhaps helps him understand better than anyone the meaning of building your own path.

Mental health, the hidden part of the iceberg

The stories of Gabi and Bruno reflect a notable trend in modern elite volleyball: athletes are increasingly speaking openly about mental health. For many years, admitting fear or self-doubt was seen as a sign of weakness.

Gabi broke that convention by saying she needed to be mentally ready not only as a player but as a person. It was a landmark statement because it acknowledged that elite sport is a psychological battle, not only a physical one.

Sports experts argue that this mental preparation is precisely what separates a good player from a great one. Technique can be trained, fitness can be built, but the ability to endure pressure and overcome fear only comes when an athlete truly understands themselves.

The results of leaving home

Gabi’s decision to move abroad produced clear results. At VakifBank she won many club titles, including Turkish domestic championships, European honours and achievements at world club level. She also became one of the most highly rated outside hitters in women’s volleyball.

At national team level, Gabi has been a pillar of Brazil for years, appearing at Olympic Games and world championships and eventually becoming captain of the Brazilian women’s team. The role Guidetti once mentioned to her in Istanbul finally became reality, but in a much bigger context.

What stands out is that Gabi’s success did not come from choosing an easy environment. It came from choosing the hardest one and staying there until she became better.

Lessons for the region and for Vietnam

The stories of the two Brazilian stars also offer lessons for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian volleyball. In recent years, some Vietnamese national team players have started moving abroad, most notably Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, who played in Japan, opening a new path for future generations.

However, the gaps in infrastructure, physical preparation and professionalism remain very large. What Gabi’s story shows is that the decisive factor is not going abroad itself, but preparation. A player must be mentally ready, must accept losing a starting place, must accept criticism and must see all of it as the necessary price of progress.

For Vietnamese volleyball, that lesson matters even more as the women’s national team tries to reach continental level and secure places in major international competitions. Staying only inside a domestic comfort zone will quickly limit development.

What comes next for Gabi and Bruno?

The poolside conversation ended with open questions about the future. Gabi has entered a phase in which she is regarded as one of the symbols of Brazilian women’s volleyball, an heir to the spirit of the Beijing 2026 generation and a role model for young players.

Bruno Rezende, as one of the greatest setters in the history of Brazilian volleyball, has experienced almost every emotion the profession offers. What he and Gabi shared is not only a personal story but part of a bigger picture of how Brazilian volleyball has maintained its position for decades.

Both showed one thing: sometimes the hardest step, the step away from home, is exactly the step that brings an athlete closest to the dream. And for players like Gabi, that dream began long ago, at a training centre called Saquarema, where a young girl first believed the yellow and green shirt could be her whole life.