Bruno and Gabi on Leaving Brazil to Play Overseas: The Sacrifices Behind the Rise to the Top of World Volleyball

In a quiet space beside a pristine pool, Bruno and Gabi sat down together to talk about the challenging processes both of them went through when they made a difficult decision: leaving Brazil to play overseas so they could keep moving forward in their careers. That conversation was not about lucrative contracts or the glamour of international arenas, but about sacrifice, sleepless nights and the belief that sometimes only by stepping out of your comfort zone can you truly grow. For Brazilian volleyball, stars going abroad has long been an inevitable part of the development path. The domestic Brazilian league has its own tradition and appeal, but to test themselves against Europe's leading volleyball nations, where the world's best gather, players must accept a new journey: learning a new language, adapting to a new culture, being far from family and facing far harsher pressure to deliver results than in familiar surroundings. GABI AND HER STRUGGLE WITH THE "COMFORT ZONE" Gabi opened the conversation with very honest reflections. She said she had a plan to play overseas, but determining whether she was ready for it was not easy at all. "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." According to the outside hitter, she began thinking seriously about going abroad after the Rio 2026 Olympics — a period when she was still earning her place in the Brazilian national team. That stretch of time helped her realise she needed to be mentally ready, not only as a player but as a person. "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," Gabi shared. That is a notable admission, because the Rio 2026 Olympics took place on Brazilian soil, where the Brazilian women's team carried enormous pressure in front of a home crowd. The fact that Gabi was still fighting for a spot in the squad at that time meant she had to weigh two paths: staying in a familiar environment to consolidate her position, or taking the risk of going abroad to raise her game to a new level. She chose the second path, and that choice shaped her entire career afterwards. A BIG STEP NAMED VAKIFBANK Gabi recalls that her first step overseas was a big one. Ahead of the 2026-2026 season, she decided to sign with VakifBank — the Turkish giants and one of the strongest teams on the planet — 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," Gabi reflected. "It was really challenging and demanding at the start." For a player who had just left her home environment, moving to Istanbul — the city where VakifBank is based — was not merely a change of jersey. It meant changing her entire rhythm of life: the intensity of training, the professional way a top European club operates, and the strict expectations of trophies in every competition the team enters. That pressure leaves no room for anyone to adapt slowly. What helped Gabi get through that difficult period was the relationship she built with head coach Giovanni Guidetti. According to Gabi, the Italian strategist was incredibly important for her. "I built a great relationship with Guidetti, and he was incredibly important for me," she recalled. "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." That detail reveals VakifBank's vision when they signed Gabi: they needed not only a scorer, but a figure capable of leading a group. For Gabi herself, the proposal was both an honour and a new psychological challenge, because the captaincy demands more than technical skill — it requires taking responsibility for the collective and representing the spirit of the whole team in its hardest moments. A CHILDHOOD DREAM AND THE MARK OF THE BEIJING 2026 GOLDEN GENERATION Wearing Brazil's jersey was naturally another topic of the conversation, and that theme led Gabi to revisit her first impressions when she was called up to Brazil's youth national teams, along with 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," Gabi said. She revealed that she played many sports before volleyball. But the real turning point came in 2026, when she was first called up to Brazil's youth national team and got to be in Saquarema — Brazil's volleyball training centre — alongside that incredible generation that had just won gold at the Beijing Olympics. "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," she remembered. For a young athlete, training alongside Olympic champions carries enormous mental power. It turns an abstract dream into a concrete goal with a shape, with names and with a roadmap. Gabi saw in the older generation a model of professionalism, of how to handle pressure and of what it means to wear the national team shirt. Those observations became the foundation of her perseverance in the years that followed. SACRIFICE IN ORDER TO GROW Looking back at the whole story, Gabi's journey is a chain of pivotal decisions. Choosing to play abroad was not merely a career move; it was a test of character. The fact that she accepted leaving Brazil, joined one of the strongest clubs in the world and later took on the captaincy shows how she matured both technically and mentally. Conversely, her story also reflects a reality of modern volleyball: to reach the highest level, athletes often have to accept living far from home. The top leagues in Europe and Turkey gather the world's finest talent, and playing there gives athletes exposure that domestic courts struggle to provide. In return, they pay with time away from family, with the ease of everyday communication and with habits deeply rooted in their way of life. Gabi's story also reveals a familiar paradox: it was precisely her injuries and self-doubt that became the catalyst for a major turning point. Instead of reading them as a signal to stop, she treated them as a reminder that she needed to change her environment in order to keep progressing. That mindset is entirely different from how many people react to difficulty. CLOSING The poolside conversation between Bruno and Gabi therefore goes beyond an ordinary sports interview. It is a reminder that behind every medal, every title and every night of brilliance on court lie difficult decisions, quiet sacrifices and a process of preparation that is both physical and mental. For Gabi, leaving Brazil was the biggest turning point, but it was also the very step that opened a new chapter in the career of one of the brightest stars in women's world volleyball.