Graeme and Andrew Shinnie have come a long way since kicking the ball about in the garden as young boys.
Having played together at Caley Thistle, the pair will line-up against each other in next month’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
Aberdeen vice-captain Graeme is looking forward to going up against older brother Andrew’s Hibernian with a place in the May 27 final at stake.
For parents Linda and Gary, it is going to be an emotional rollercoaster, knowing one of their sons is going to finish the day on the losing side.
Shinnie said: “It will be a good occasion for the whole family, I suppose my mum and dad can’t lose because they’ll have someone in the final either way.
“They will have to stay neutral and sit in the main stand – or maybe my mum will support me and my dad support him.
“We’ll wait and see but it’s bound to be a nice problem for them to have.
“It’s a new one for us because the only time we have played against each other was in a friendly when Inverness played Birmingham.
“Apart from that day, we have always played on the same team.
“It will be a great occasion and something that we will be able to look back on it – although who remembers it best will depend on who wins.
“Playing against each other will be a novelty because we’ve always played on the same teams.
“When I was younger Andrew used to stick me in goals and blast the ball at me.
“I think he wanted me to become a goalkeeper back then so it might be a chance for me to get payback for all the balls he fired at me.
“He is two years older than me so at boys’ club he was always in a different age group, but we used to play football in the garden like brothers do.
“We used to play with our mates in the park as well, in big games of about 18-a-side.
“He had his mates and I had mine, but when we were sitting in the house bored we used to go out together and play.
“So to play against each other in Hampden in a Scottish Cup semi-final will be really special for everyone.
“Compared to the old days in the park beside my mum and dad’s house it will be like a different world.”
Shinnie already knows what it takes to lift the Scottish Cup after captaining Caley Thistle to glory in 2015.
Brother Andrew, a Birmingham player at the time, made it into the dressing room to celebrate the greatest moment in his former club’s history.
Shinnie added: “When we won the cup at Inverness he was there as he was a guest on the television that day and came down to the dressing-room afterwards to congratulate the lads.
“There won’t be a distraction because he’s my brother.
“He’s my brother before it and after it, but during the game he’s just going to be like any normal opponent.
“We will have a game plan and it will be about carrying that through.”