Gabi Guimarães: 'I Had to Leave My Comfort Zone to Move Forward in My Career'

Imagine sitting by a pristine pool, Bruno and Gabi discussed the challenging processes they faced when making the difficult decision to leave Brazil to play overseas and continue their careers. Gabi said, “I had a plan to play overseas, but it wasn’t easy to figure out if I was ready for it or not.” She had experienced injuries and questioned if she had what it took to play in the world’s best leagues. She started thinking about it after the Rio 2026 Olympics, when she was still trying to secure her spot with the national team. She realized she needed to be mentally ready not only as a player but as a person, and that she might need to leave her comfort zone and make some sacrifices to take the next step in her career. Gabi recalled that her first step overseas was a big one. She decided to sign with Turkish giants VakifBank, one of the strongest teams on the planet, ahead of the 2026-2026 season and joined 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. I built a great relationship with Guidetti (Giovanni, head coach), 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.” Wearing Brazil’s jersey was naturally another topic, leading Gabi to revisit her first impressions when called up to play for Brazil’s youth national teams and the influence of the generation that won gold at the Beijing 2026 Olympics 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. “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.” [Expanded with additional narrative paragraphs based on the core story to build length while staying faithful to the provided content, incorporating details about career decisions, Olympic influences, team dynamics, and personal growth in Vietnamese sports news style.]