By Ercan Cakar and Emre Dogan
ISTANBUL (AA) - VakifBank Istanbul's Brazilian volleyball player Gabi Guimaraes, who will start her fifth season with the club with a match against Fenerbahce Opet on Wednesday, spoke with Anadolu about her goals and Turkish volleyball.
"Yeah, of course, we are very happy and excited to start the new season. This year is completely different. Not only has the team become stronger but also the league is much stronger than last year," she said.
Speaking about her goals, the 29-year-old said: "For me, every season, the goal is always to win everything. I think it is always challenging to play in Türkiye...This is the top (level). In my opinion, as I said before, it's one of the best leagues right now in the world."
- Big example for young girls
Guimaraes said Türkiye has made important progress in volleyball.
"I saw in the news that even girls in school have the opportunity to see the national team games. Turkish volleyball became a big example for young girls,” she said. "It's really nice to see the impact that Türkiye has on volleyball. It's changing people's lives."
Guimaraes spoke highly of Turkish national team player Melissa Vargas.
"She's amazing. In my opinion, she is one of the best players if not the best in the world. How much she improved last year and how she's helping the team is unbelievable."
- 'I love the history of Türkiye'
Guimaraes also said she loves Türkiye and Turkish culture very much.
"The thing that I love the most is the history of the country. I always try to go to some historic places. I take someone who can show me the places. The history of Türkiye is really rich," she said.
"The people are so hospitable. Everywhere you go, even if you don't speak that much Turkish, people try to help you."
*Writing by Selcuk Bugra Gokalp