VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS from Brazil

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Brazilian Volleyball Players of all time. This list of famous Brazilian Volleyball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Brazilian Volleyball Players.

1. Bernardo Rezende (1959 - )

With an HPI of 51.39, Bernardo Rezende is the most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages on wikipedia.

Bernardo Rocha de Rezende (born 25 August 1959), known as Bernardo Rezende and nicknamed Bernardinho, is a Brazilian volleyball coach and former player. He is the current coach of the female volleyball team Rio de Janeiro Vôlei Clube. Rezende is one of the most successful coaches in the history of volleyball, accumulating more than 30 major titles in a twenty-year career directing the Brazilian male and female teams. Rezende has won two Olympic gold medals during his coaching career, as head coach of Brazil men's national volleyball team at 2004 Athens and 2016 Rio Olympics. He also won two bronze medals as head coach of Brazil women's national volleyball team at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics. As of 2021, with 48 medals overall, he is the most successful team sport coach of all time.

2. Giba (1976 - )

With an HPI of 47.88, Giba is the 2nd most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Gilberto Amauri de Godoy Filho, known as Giba (born 23 December 1976), is a Brazilian former professional volleyball player who played as an outside hitter. For much of the 2000s, he was widely regarded as one of the best volleyball players in the world. During his professional career he played in Brazil, Italy, Russia, Argentina and briefly in the United Arab Emirates. He is mostly remembered for his successes with the national team. With the Brazilian National Team he won a total of 8 South American Championships, 3 America's Cups, 8 World League titles, 3 World Grand Champions Cups, three World Championships (2002, 2006, 2010), a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and two silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, where he was the team's captain. During summer 2014, Giba retired from professional volleyball at the age of 37.

3. Bruno Rezende (1986 - )

With an HPI of 39.87, Bruno Rezende is the 3rd most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Bruno Mossa de Rezende (born 2 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional volleyball player who is currently a member of Brazil men's national volleyball team and Italian club Modena Volley. The son of the legendary Brazilian coach Bernardo Rezende, he is one of the most accomplished setters and volleyball players in the world. His accomplishments include: 2016 Olympic Champion, double silver medalist of the Olympic Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012), 2010 World Champion, double gold medalist of the World Grand Champions Cup (2009, 2013), South American Champion (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2021), multimedalist of the World League, Pan American Games, Brazilian Champion (2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013), Italian Champion (2016, 2019).

4. Sérgio Santos (1975 - )

With an HPI of 38.33, Sérgio Santos is the 4th most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Sérgio Dutra dos Santos, known as Serginho or Escadinha (born 15 October 1975) is a Brazilian former volleyball player and four-time Olympian. As a member of the Brazilian national volleyball team, he won gold medals at the 2004 and 2016 Olympics, and silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Additionally, Serginho is a two-time World Champion (2006, 2010), and a multimedalist of the World League, South American Championship, World Cup, and the Grand Champions Cup. In 2009, he became the first libero to be named Most Valuable Player in the history of the FIVB World League.

5. Dante Amaral (1980 - )

With an HPI of 36.78, Dante Amaral is the 5th most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Dante Guimarães Santos do Amaral (born 30 September 1980) is a former Brazilian professional volleyball player, who is best known as Dante. Measuring 2.01 metres (6 ft 7 in) he played in the position of outside hitter. He was born in Itumbiara.

6. Murilo Endres (1981 - )

With an HPI of 36.20, Murilo Endres is the 6th most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Murilo Endres (born May 3, 1981) is a Brazilian volleyball player, member of Brazil men's national volleyball team and Brazilian club SESI São Paulo. He is a double silver medalist of the Olympic Games from Beijing 2008 and London 2012, World Champion (2006, 2010), silver medalist of the World Championship 2014, multimedalist of the World League, South American Championship, World Cup and the Grand Champions Cup.

7. Wallace de Souza (1987 - )

With an HPI of 35.73, Wallace de Souza is the 7th most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Wallace Leandro de Souza (born 26 June 1987), known by the mononym Wallace, is a Brazilian volleyball player, member of the Brazil men's national volleyball team, 2016 Olympic Champion, silver medallist of the Olympic Games (London 2012), 2014 and 2018 World Championship, three–time South American Champion (2011, 2013, 2017). After winning the bronze medal of 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship, he announced his retirement from Brazil national team. In January 2023 Wallace expressed his desire to see Brazilian president Lula murdered, publishing a social media poll alongside a photo of himself holding a gun, asking his followers “Would you shoot Lula in the face with this 12 [shotgun?]” The post caused great controversy. The Brazilian Olympic Committee forwarded a representation to the Ethics Council of the entity about the case and the minister of the Social Communication Secretariat of the Federal Government, Paulo Pimenta, called the Attorney General's Office (AGU). Finally, Sada Cruzeiro announced Wallace's suspension indefinitely. Later, Wallace deleted the post and apologized for what happened: "Anyone who knows me knows that I would never incite violence under any circumstances, especially to our President. So, I come here to apologize, it was an unfortunate post that I ended up making. I was wrong."

8. Ricardo Garcia (1975 - )

With an HPI of 34.78, Ricardo Garcia is the 8th most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Ricardo Bermudez Garcia (born November 19, 1975), known as Ricardinho, is a Brazilian volleyball player. He competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Ricardinho was born in São Paulo. In 2004, he was part of the Brazilian team which won the gold medal in the Olympic tournament. He played all eight matches. In 2007, Ricardinho was dismissed from the team, reportedly because of conflicts with other team members. He rejoined the team for the 2012 Olympics in London where they won the silver medal.

9. Thaísa Menezes (1987 - )

With an HPI of 34.54, Thaísa Menezes is the 9th most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Thaísa Daher de Menezes, also known as Thaísa Menezes or Thaísa Daher, is a professional volleyball player from Brazil. She won back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics in 2008 and 2012. She has won numerous Best Spiker and Best Blocker Awards and is often singled out as one of the greatest Brazilian players of all time.

10. Natália Pereira (1989 - )

With an HPI of 34.15, Natália Pereira is the 10th most famous Brazilian Volleyball Player.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Natália Zilio Pereira (born 4 April 1989) is a Brazilian professional volleyball player who won the gold medal with the Brazilian national volleyball team in the 2012 Summer Olympics.