My cup final: Alex Salmond

This year’s Scottish Cup Final is a truly unique occasion. There is nobody alive on the planet today who can possibly claim to have witnessed a capital city derby Scottish Cup Final.

And it is remarkable that these two great clubs have not actually gone head to head in the last tie of this famous competition since they clashed at Logie Green in the closing years of the nineteenth century.

That long hiatus has only whetted the appetite of fans across the country for this game, and one of the things that has struck me most in the build-up to this final is the sense that the excitement this match has generated stretches far beyond Edinburgh itself.

Because it is not just those whose loyalties lie at Easter Road or Tynecastle who are relishing this encounter. All over Scotland, people are looking forward to the prospect of our two capital city clubs going head to head to win the oldest trophy in world football.

My own experiences as a Hearts fan watching my team in finals has been a mixed one down through the years, with a few triumphs, including the most recent, a penalty shoot-out win over Gretna in 2006, as well as some disappointments along the way. But probably my most enduring football memory, certainly in terms of games I have actually attended, is as a youngster watching Hearts defeat Kilmarnock at Hampden in October 1962 to lift the League Cup, when my dad told me there would be many more similar triumphs for Hearts in the years ahead.

There have been a few more such occasions over the years, of course, but perhaps not quite as trophy-laden as we imagined that day, despite some great players turning out in the maroon. Hibs too have had some truly fantastic players and teams over the years, and they need absolutely no reminding – and certainly not from a Hearts supporter like myself – of how long they have been waiting to get their hands back on the Scottish Cup.

It is hugely important for the city of Edinburgh and for both Hearts and Hibs that this final is conducted in a great spirit. Obviously, I would like Hearts to win, but it will be exceptional for Hibs too if they win.

And, whatever the outcome of this final, let’s hope for a great spectacle and occasion which is remembered above all for sportsmanship and which is a great advert for our national game.