Another exciting Spanish League soccer season is almost here.

Barcelona looks to defend their title, while Real Madrid will do everything in their power to prevent that. Continental tournaments such as the Copa America and Gold Cup are over. It's time to focus on a long 38-week soccer season in Spain. This is an endurance, not a sprint.

Here are five reasons Barcelona will win their second straight La Liga.

1. Lionel Messi

Barcelona benefits from having the best player in the world. Lionel Messi is by far the best passer on the planet, and he has led Barcelona to seven La Liga championships since 2004. While Messi has never been able to win a major title for Argentina, (he lost in the finals in the FIFA World Cup and Copa America) he has absolutely dominates in Spain. He's the all-time scorer in La Liga history for a reason, and holds just about every franchise record for Barcelona. On top of all that, he's just 28 years old.

2. Defense

Head coach Luis Enrique doesn't just benefit from having a great offense -- his squad was ranked No. 1 in defense last season as well. Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba created a great defensive wall against their opponents. One could argue that defense was the primary reason Barcelona won it all last season. Even though Real Madrid scored eight more goals than Barcelona, their defense let them down allowing 38 to Barcelona's 21. Atletico Madrid allowed the second fewest goals in the league last year, 29.

3. South American Trio

It's hard enough stopping Messi, but Barcelona has a South American trio unlike any other club team in the world. Neymar is capable of scoring from anywhere on the field, and Luis Suarez dramatically improved late last season. If Suarez played like he did last season, Barcelona will run away with the championship this year. Messi, Neymar and Suarez combined for 81 goals last La Liga season. To put that into perspective, that was more than 18 other squads combined! Surprisingly, Suarez had the third most assist in the league last season. These three have gelled perfectly.

4. Goalkeeping

Barcelona doesn't just have the best player in the league, they also have the single best goalkeeper. Claudio Bravo had himself one of the greatest seasons of all-time last year winning the Treble with Barcelona, and later leading Chile to a Copa America championship. Bravo led the league in clean sheets, games played and goals against average last year. As for Real Madrid, long-time great Iker Casillas is no longer with the squad. Casillas had been with Real Madrid since 1999 providing excellent leadership and quality saves. That's a big advantage for Barcelona.

5. Power Shift in Spain

Real Madrid is the most successful La Liga team ever having won 32 championships, but the last 12 seasons have seen a major power shift. Since 2004 Barcelona has won seven titles while Real Madrid has won just three. Real Madrid has only won one La Liga championship in the last seven years. By comparison, Barcelona has won five championships in the last seven years. Barcelona is currently nine championships behind Real Madrid (32 to 23), but by the time Messi retires, that gap will continue to close dramatically.

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1