Gabi and Bruno Rezende: When Leaving Brazil Is the Only Way Forward

Beside a pristine pool, two Brazilian volleyball stars, Gabriela “Gabi” Guimarães and Bruno Rezende, 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 was not about trophies or big matches; it focused on the hardest part of a player's life: the moment you must choose between comfort and growth. For Gabi, it was a carefully planned journey that was still full of doubt. For Bruno Rezende, it was the story of someone who had walked the same road and understood the price.

“I had a plan of playing overseas, but it wasn't easy to know if I was ready”

Gabi recalled: “I had a plan of playing overseas, but it wasn't easy to figure out if I was ready for it or not. I had experienced some injuries and had questions if I had what it took to play in the world's best leagues.”

According to the outside hitter, she started thinking about it after the Rio 2026 Olympics, when she was still earning her space with the Brazilian national team. She understood that she needed to be mentally ready not only as a player, but as a person.

“I understood 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,” Gabi said.

That is a modest way of putting it, because behind the decision lay a string of hard questions: would injuries return, could her body handle the intensity of European leagues, and, most importantly, could she stay strong mentally while living far from family and her native language.

VakifBank and the shock named Giovanni Guidetti

Gabi's first step overseas was a big one. Ahead of the 2026-2026 season she decided to sign with Turkish giants VakifBank, one of the strongest teams on the planet, joining 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,” Gabi reflected. “It was really challenging and demanding at the start.”

What helped her through that period was her relationship with head coach Giovanni Guidetti. According to Gabi, the Italian coach was incredibly important for her. One of the first things he told her was that he wanted to prepare her to be the team captain.

“I was shocked because I have never seen myself in that position,” Gabi admitted.

The detail shows how much Gabi's role changed abroad: from a young hitter still earning her place, she became a pillar of a top European club, both technically and mentally. A renowned coach betting on her leadership qualities also shows that a player's value is not measured only by the points she scores.

The national team shirt and the Beijing 2026 golden generation

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.

Gabi said she played many sports before volleyball. But when she 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 she should continue.

“I had never been so close to my dream before,” Gabi said.

For a young player, training alongside Olympic champions is worth more than many theoretical talks. It showed Gabi the standards of the elite: how to train, how to carry pressure and how to turn a nation's expectations into fuel rather than a burden.

Bruno Rezende and the price of leaving

On the other side of the conversation, Bruno Rezende did not need much explanation to understand what Gabi went through. During his career, Brazil's veteran setter also left his homeland to play abroad, including a spell with Modena in Italy.

That experience gave Bruno a similar perspective: going overseas is not just a change of league, it is a change of the entire living environment. A player must learn to communicate in a new language, adapt to a new culture and accept that star status at home does not automatically travel with him.

That is why the poolside conversation between Bruno and Gabi felt like two colleagues looking back together at a decision that shaped their careers, rather than a standard interview.

Why is the decision to go overseas so hard?

An analysis of Gabi's story points to four main groups of difficulties.

The first is the psychological barrier. Gabi made clear she needed to be mentally ready, because the fear of failing in a bigger league can be greater than any injury.

The second is physical condition and injuries. Having been through injuries made her question whether she could withstand the intensity of European competition.

The third is the professional environment. VakifBank is a club with title ambitions, where every training session is highly competitive and mistakes are judged harshly.

The fourth is the new role. Being groomed for the captaincy forced Gabi to change how she saw herself, moving from apprentice to leader.

A perspective for Vietnamese volleyball

Gabi's story has parallels with the journeys of Vietnamese national team players who have gone abroad in recent years. Leaving the domestic league, they too face higher training intensity, a different coaching philosophy and greater pressure to deliver results.

The lesson is not about going overseas at any cost, but about preparation. Gabi did not leave while she was still unsure of what she wanted; she waited until after the Rio 2026 Olympics, when she understood her own limits and goals.

Conclusion

The decision by Gabi Guimarães and Bruno Rezende to leave Brazil reflects a familiar paradox in elite sport: to go further, you sometimes have to leave the place where you are most loved. For Gabi, that step began with the doubts after the Rio 2026 Olympics, passed through the shock named VakifBank and Giovanni Guidetti, and was nurtured by the memory of the Beijing 2026 golden generation in Saquarema.