Gabi on leaving Brazil: 'I needed to leave my comfort zone to chase the dream'

Sitting by a pristine pool, Gabi and Bruno had a long conversation about the moment they made a difficult decision: leaving Brazil to play overseas. For Gabi, it was not a story about a contract. It was a journey of facing the fear inside herself. "I had a plan of playing overseas, but it was not 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. 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 would need to leave my comfort zone and make some sacrifices to take the next step in my career." Her first step abroad was a big one. Gabi signed with Turkish giants VakifBank, one of the strongest teams on the planet, ahead of the 2026-2026 season. She arrived as one of the leading stars of a team with massive ambitions and immediately realized she had entered a whole other level. "The scenario I found when I got there was mind-changing," the Brazilian outside hitter reflected. "It showed me right from the start that I was getting into a whole other level of volleyball. It was really challenging and demanding at the start. I built a great relationship with coach Giovanni 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. I was shocked because I had never seen myself in that position." Wearing Brazil's jersey was another natural topic of the conversation. Gabi revisited her first impressions when called up to Brazil's youth national team and the influence of the generation that won gold at the Beijing 2026 Olympics. "To play for the national team is really a childhood dream," she said. "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. 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. I had never been so close to my dream before." Gabi's story is not simply about adapting to Turkish volleyball. It shows that the decisive condition for a female athlete stepping into a tougher environment is not the titles she already owns, but the readiness inside. She did not talk about how good she is. She talked about not being sure she was ready. That way of telling her own story reflects the pressure many Brazilian players face when leaving their families, teammates and comfort zones. The counterintuitive part of Gabi's journey is that what seemed like a destination was actually a beginning. VakifBank was not only a place to develop her skills. Through the trust placed by Guidetti, the club made her rethink herself. Being told she would become captain hit her like a shock, but that same shock pulled her away from the image of a player who only finishes her tasks. She began to understand that leadership is not an inborn trait. It can be built through recognition from others and the courage to accept responsibility. Looking at Brazilian women's volleyball, the way Gabi prepared for moving abroad is also a meaningful signal. Not everyone dares to leave a country with a rich volleyball tradition during the peak of a career. Her story shows that elite sport increasingly demands emotional maturity. Tactics, physical preparation and coaching systems are now evaluated together with the ability to rebuild yourself in a foreign environment. The poolside conversation between Gabi and Bruno reminds us that big decisions almost never have just one step. Before she could deliver a spike through VakifBank's block or perform in the national team jersey, Gabi had to overcome an invisible barrier inside her mind. Guidetti may have prepared her to wear the captain's armband, but more importantly, he helped her see a potential she had never dared to imagine. For Gabi, the road ahead is still long. But the question "Am I ready?" no longer seems like a wall. After leaving her comfort zone in Brazil, after accepting sacrifices in Turkey, she is walking with the confidence of someone who once listened to doubt and answered with action. The most valuable sports story is not always about winning. Sometimes it is about the moment a woman chooses to believe in herself, especially when nothing around her feels certain.