Born in
Strömstad near the
Norwegian border, he began his professional career in
Örgryte IS, a club with which he won the
Allsvenskan championship in 1985. He got 1 cap for
Sweden, and was called up as a reserve in the Swedish squad for the
1990 FIFA World Cup in
Italy. In 1993, after having retired from professional football, he was persuaded by
Helsingborgs IF to make his comeback. Between 1993 and 2001 he played 233 consecutive
Allsvenskan matches, and a total of 268 matches for the club. He was suspended from what was planned to be his last match for HIF due to a red card in his 233rd match. In 2000, he earned his nickname
San Siro-Sven with a last-minute penalty save against
Inter Milan. In a
2000–01 UEFA Champions League qualifier, Helsingborgs were leading 1–0 on aggregate from the first leg with the second leg delicately poised at 0–0. In the final minute Inter were awarded a penalty but
Alvaro Recoba saw his effort saved by Andersson, and Helsingborgs qualified at Inter's expense. In November 2001 he joined
Premier League side
West Ham United, but left the following summer having not made an appearance for the club. == Post-playing career ==