FIFA presidential elections don't usually deliver surprises.
Until now the last five have delivered the same winner, the now banned and disgraced Sepp Blatter, and it is 42 years since an election even went to a second round.
Back then England's Sir Stanley Rous lost to Joao Havelange, setting in train a system of patronage and, we now know, corruption that culminated in the police raids last May that hastened Blatter's demise.
Infantino's victory counts as one of the more remarkable successes in sports politics. Five months ago he was not even thinking about running, with his UEFA boss Michel Platini set fair to succeed his mentor Blatter.
A £1.3m payment between the pair unearthed by the Swiss authorities changed everything. Infantino was initially entered as a candidate to keep Platini's seat warm in case he survived a FIFA investigation.
When it became clear he would not, Infantino became a live candidate. Even then, some suspected the limit of his ambition was to provide Europe leverage in horse-trading with the favourite, Sheikh Salman of Bahrain.
But as the campaign progressed he insisted he was in the race to win. Funded by a $500,000 budget from UEFA, he travelled widely and made headway.
While his opponent did most of his lobbying in private, and faced questions about his involvement in the suppression of pro-democracy protests in Bahrain, Infantino ran a public campaign, trumpeting every endorsement.
It paid off, as the continental bloc votes that once sustained Blatter and were the heart of Salman's strategy crumbled despite serious pressure in the final 24 hours. (It seems the only bloc that remained intact was Infantino's UEFA.)
Infantino's win should effectively cuts a line to a discredited past that would have been perpetuated had Platini, Blatter's protege as he had been Havelange's, been elected.
Winning will only be the start. Born just 10 miles from Blatter's home town, Infantino now has to prove he is a completely different kind of president. He is a football insider, and has faced criticism of UEFA's handling of match-fixing. But he is untainted so far by the chaos that has assailed FIFA.
It will not be easy. FIFA remains in the sights of the US Department of Justice and the Swiss Attorney General. Officials, broadcast deals, and the award of at least five World Cup tournaments remain under investigation.
Infantino will be far more palatable to them than Salman, as long as he keeps the documents and information currently flowing via the lawyers from Zurich to the FBI.
If he can do that, and make the world focus on football, he and FIFA stand a chance.
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