During a 10 day pre-season tour of the United States, F.C Barcelona struggled. The team only received one victory in three exhibition matches. But, the U.S. tour was more rewarding in other ways as it allowed the reigning UEFA Champions League holders to promote their two big off season acquisitions: right back Aleix Vidal and, above all, midfielder Arda Turan. For Arda Turan, it was the first time in the media spotlight of what, measured by Facebook followers, is the world's most popular club. During preparations for the first match of the tour, Turan had a chance to meet Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant. Bryant is both a Turkish Airlines pitchman and an FC Barcelona fan.Despite Turan's limited English, he was warmly embraced by fans in the United States, particularly in California where he routinely took time to sign autographs for fans. He was also active on social media throughout the tour and, since joining F.C Barcelona, he now increasingly tweets in English.While Turan gamely trotted out onto the field for one match in California wearing white boots with black socks, a FIFA suspension against F.C Barcelona means he won't play for his new club until January. In April 2014, FIFA suspended the Catalan giants from fielding new players due to a scandal surrounding underage players. Turan showed leadership even off the field during the tour. He was the sole F.C Barcelona player to attend the announcement of a new partnership between FC Barcelona, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Global Citizen to solve extreme poverty by 2030. At the event, Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans said, "Sport is one of the most unifying experiences in the world and we look forward to partnering to engage and motivate millions of F.C.B. fans as we unite to beat extreme poverty and become global citizens." Global Citizens uses an incentive based system to encourage individual efforts toward the goal of ending global poverty. Other speakers at the event included representatives of the Gate Foundation, F.C Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu, and Global Citizen Ambassador Kweku Mandela; the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela. Speaking at the event, the 28-year-old Turan described what it meant to play for F.C Barcelona "When I came to Barcelona, it was really different. Not just as a fútbol club. I come from a really big family and different culture. Everything is different. When I came to Barcelona everybody was very sympathetic. There is not just support when we win, there is always support. This is really important to me, I'm really glad to be a part of this group because it is really, really the best group in the world."After stints with Atletico Madrid and Turkey's Galatasaray, Turan was ranked 38th out of the top 100 football players in the world by the Guardian in 2014. Though the last Turk to play for FC Barcelona was Rüştü Reçber in 2006, Turan believes F.C Barcelona is very popular in Turkey, "The Turkish people love FC Barcelona. When I came to Barcelona there were many people who were very happy. This is really important to me. I want to be a good example for my country and my people. This is more than everything for me because (my people) love FC Barcelona and when (Turkish) children watch Barcelona they learn to love sports," he explained while in San Francisco.Turan shared the cover of the Turkish edition of the FIFA 2015 video game with Lionel Messi and now, the two will share the same pitch. At the Global Citizen event, Turan smiled when participants were handed out jerseys with the number 10; "That's Messi's number!" he exclaimed. Without opportunities to play for F.C Barcelona until January, Turan's appearances in the 2016 European Championships qualifying campaign has become even more important. They will help keep Turan disciplined and in shape in the five months before his F.C Barcelona debut.The Turkish national team currently sits behind Holland, the Czech Republic and Iceland in Group A of the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Iceland, who barely missed qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, stand atop the group with 15 points. Iceland owes much of their success to the 36-year old Eidur Gudjohnsen, who has scored more goals for the Icelandic national team than any other player in the island nation's history. He himself spent three years with F.C Barcelona. In June, Turan scored the lone goal for the Turkish national team over Kazakhstan but, the team faces a tougher schedule going forward. Before facing group leader, Iceland, on Oct. 13. First, Turkey must face Latvia on Sept. 3, Holland on Sept. 6 and the Czech Republic on Oct. 10. These matches should be more than enough to keep Arda Turan busy throughout the fall.