Soccer-Eduardo rejoins Shakhtar after leaving Flamengo

By Igor Nitsak KIEV, July 12 (Reuters) - Brazilian-born Croatia striker Eduardo Alves da Silva rejoined Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday on an 18-month contract after he was released by Flamengo, the Ukrainian club said. The arrival of Eduardo, who scored 36 goals in 113 games for the club between 2010 and 2014, follows the departure of three Brazilian players -- Douglas Costa, Luiz Adriano and Fernando. "It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to return to the club that has always been in your heart," Eduardo told Shakhtar's official website (www.shakhtar.com). "I was extremely eager to come back and now I have a feeling like a load was taken off my mind. It all played out like I dreamt." Eduardo, now 32, first moved to Shakhtar on a four-year contract in July 2010 from Arsenal after his Premier League career was disrupted by a broken leg in 2008. Eduardo's injury against Birmingham City -- a double fracture -- was so horrific that broadcasters would not show replays of the incident. Last season Shakhtar were based in Kiev and played their games in the western city of Lviv having left war-torn Donetsk, a major industrial city in the east which has become a stronghold for pro-Russian separatists. Shakhtar finished second in the Ukrainian Premier League last season behind Dynamo Kiev. (Reporting by Igor Nitsak, editing by Tom Hayward)