What a summer it has been for soccer fans. Chile won the Copa America championship over Argentina, which was then followed up by Mexico's victorious run at the Gold Cup over Jamaica.

With much of international play about to go on hold, it's time to focus on league play.

The 2015-16 Spanish Premier League begins on Friday, Aug. 21, with Malaga and Sevilla facing each other. From that point on, the next 38 weeks will be filled with amazing goals, diving saves and rivalry matches you won't want to miss.

Barcelona is of course the defending champions after winning it all last season with a 30-4-4 record, giving them 94 points. Barcelona didn't just win La Liga last season: They completed the incredible treble by also winning the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. The last team to accomplish the treble was the 2008-09 Barcelona squad.

Lionel Messi was simply fantastic last year scoring a team-leading 43 goals, five behind Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi also led the league in assists with 18 proving that he is the best passer in the game today. Messi has guided Barcelona to seven league titles since the 2004-05 season. With Neymar by his side striking goals constantly, it's extremely difficult to guard Messi.

The emergence of Luis Suarez completes the South American offensive trio. The 28-year-old Uruguayan was one of the hottest players at the end of last year scoring critical goals for Barcelona. Last season Suarez had the third most assists in the league behind only Messi and Ronaldo.

On top of all that, Barcelona had the most successful goalkeeper in the league in Claudio Bravo. Bravo won the Zamora Trophy as the best goalie in the league after he allowed just 19 total goals in the 37 games he started last season. Bravo would later go on to lead Chile to the 2015 Copa America championship.

Barcelona is big favorites to repeat as La Liga champions. Real Madrid has the most La Liga titles of all-time with 32, but Barcelona has been dramatically closing the gap since 2004. At this point in time, it's basically Barcelona vs. the field. Barcelona has a young squad filled with superstars, and they show no signs of slowing down.

So, can anybody dethrone Barcelona this upcoming season?

Real Madrid will always be in the mix. As a matter of fact, it was Real Madrid who was in first place from Week 10 through Week 25 because of their incredible offense last year. Real Madrid went on to lead the league in total goals scored last season with 118, the second most in La Liga history. Karim Benzema played well, but Gareth Bale ended the season on a bad note.

While Real Madrid did score eight more goals than Barcelona last season, they also allowed 17 more goals against. To make matters more challenging for Real Madrid, they won't have Iker Casillas this upcoming season. Casillas is now with FC Porto after spending the previous 16 years with Los Blancos. Casillas wasn't just a great goalie, he was leader.

Ronaldo is an extremely gifted goal scorer, and this upcoming season he will be counted on as much as any other. Last season Ronaldo fell just two goals short of Messi's single season scoring record with 48 goals. Colombian middle fielder James Rodriguez will play a huge role for real Madrid this season. After Rodriguez got injured last season, that's when Real Madrid became very vulnerable.

Aside from Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid also poses a threat to Barcelona. They did win the championship just two years ago, and last season they placed third overall. Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic create a good duo, but questions still remain in the middle of the field. Valencia also put together an impressive run last season led by Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Alves, huge scoring issues leave some Valencia fans with more questions than answers.

Barcelona will be attempting to become the first team to win back to back championships since they won three consecutive titles from 2008 to 2010.

Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1